The impact of the COVID-l9 Pandemic on long term care home staff and residents
The COVID‑19 pandemic has put enormous additional stresses on Canada’s already stressed long-term care system – both the older adults living in long-term care and the frontline workers giving them direct care. Canada has the highest percentage of COVID‑19 deaths as a percentage of total country COVID‑19 deaths in the world at over 80%. Residents, families, and care staff have been under high levels of stress related to COVID‑19 since early spring 2020. Previous reports from the SARS epidemic and early reports from Wuhan, China suggest that the front line staff will experience major mental health challenges and we have already seen early reports of the impact on residents. We will assess the impact of COVID‑19 on quality of care and quality of life for residents on mental health and quality of work life for front line staff. We have a large database completed just prior to the COVID‑19 spring lock down in LTC homes that includes both residents and staff assessments. In this project, we will collect data one year after the lock downs began to assess the impact of the pandemic. Our findings will be critical to guide improvement efforts in key areas for both residents and staff. We have the networks, partnerships, and proven pathways to bring our findings and recommendations to decision makers who need them and can use them to guide decision-making.
