The Impact of COVID-19 on the Quality of Life and Happiness of Care Home Residents in Croatia: A Cross-Sectional Study

VIVALDI ASCOT and Ethnography Study: protocol for a mixed-methods longitudinal study to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 and other respiratory infection outbreaks on care home residents' quality of life and psychosocial well-being

INTRODUCTION

Older adults in care homes experienced some of the highest rates of mortality from SARS-CoV-2 globally and were subjected to strict and lengthy non-pharmaceutical interventions, which severely impacted their daily lives. The VIVALDI ASCOT and Ethnography Study aims to assess the impact of respiratory outbreaks on care home residents' quality of life, psychological well-being, loneliness, functional ability and use of space. This study is linked to the VIVALDI-CT, a randomised controlled trial of staff's asymptomatic testing and sickness payment support in care homes (ISRCTN13296529).

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This is a mixed-methods, longitudinal study of care home residents (65+) in Southeast England. Group 1-exposed includes residents from care homes with a recent COVID-19 or other respiratory infection outbreak. Group 2-non-exposed includes residents from care homes without a recent outbreak. The study has two components: (a) a mixed-methods longitudinal face-to-face interviews with 100 residents (n=50 from group 1 and n=50 from group 2) to assess the impact of outbreaks on residents' quality of life, psychological well-being, loneliness, functional ability and use of space at time 1 (study baseline) and time 2 (at 3-4 weeks after the first visit); (b) ethnographic observations in communal spaces of up to 10 care homes to understand how outbreaks and related restrictions to the use of space and social activities impact residents' well-being. The study will interview only care home residents who have the mental capacity to consent. Data will be compared and integrated to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of outbreaks on residents' quality of life and well-being.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The VIVALDI ASCOT and Ethnography Study obtained ethical approval from the Health Research Authority (HRA) Social Care REC (24/IEC08/0001). Only residents with the capacity to consent will be included in the study. Findings will be published in scientific journals.

The inverted-U model of employee happiness: examining overdose happiness in context of personal characteristics, job-relationship dependency, benign stress, and various theories

In recent years, the management literature has begun to deal with individual and organizational results after happiness rather than the pursuit of happiness in business life and finally reaching happiness. After the fact that everything in an overdose is harmful, it has become the subject of even more research with paradoxical results that happiness that evokes positive emotions is not as innocent as it seems. In this study, which aims to reveal the harmful effects of overdose of employee happiness, the reasons for the manager's fear - or anxiety - about the happiness of his employees are interpreted. The Inverted-U Model of Employee Happiness (IUMEH) has been developed and individual work outputs have been evaluated in three areas that (1) support happiness, (2) reflect balanced happiness, and (3) turn negative with an overdose of happiness intoxication. It has been suggested that IUMEH, which is thought to contribute to the literature as it is the first descriptive model to emerge, should be supported by applied studies, and it has been reminded that the curvilinear aspect of the model may include differences in terms of culture, type and characteristics of job, private, public or non-profit enterprises, generations of managers and the level of managers (front-line, middle level and senior level etc.).

Factors Associated With the Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVES

Quality of life (QoL) of nursing home (NH) residents is critical, yet understudied, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to examine whether COVID-19 outbreaks, lack of access to geriatric professionals, and care aide burnout were associated with NH residents' QoL.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study (July to December 2021).

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We purposefully selected 9 NHs in Alberta, Canada, based on their COVID-19 exposure (no or minor/short outbreaks vs repeated or extensive outbreaks). We included data for 689 residents from 18 care units.

METHODS

We used the DEMQOL-CH to assess resident QoL through video-based care aide interviews. Independent variables included a COVID-19 outbreak in the NH in the past 2 weeks (health authority records), care unit-levels of care aide burnout (9-item short-form Maslach Burnout Inventory), and resident access to geriatric professionals (validated facility survey). We ran mixed-effects regression models, adjusted for facility and care unit (validated surveys), and resident covariates (Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set 2.0).

RESULTS

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks (β = 0.189; 95% CI: 0.058-0.320), higher proportions of emotionally exhausted care aides on a care unit (β = 0.681; 95% CI: 0.246-1.115), and lack of access to geriatric professionals (β = 0.216; 95% CI: 0.003-0.428) were significantly associated with poorer resident QoL.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Policies aimed at reducing infection outbreaks, better supporting staff, and increasing access to specialist providers may help to mitigate how COVID-19 has negatively affected NH resident QoL.