COVID-19 MINUTES- studie

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English text below

Hoe verging het de verpleeghuizen? Welke problemen en oplossingen werden besproken in de crisisteams? Met de COVID-19 MINUTES- studie, volgden we verpleeghuizen tijdens de pandemie op de voet. Onderzoek naar genomen COVID-19- maatregelen en problemen in verpleeghuizen.

Inhoud onderzoek

In de eerste maanden van de corona pandemie (februari – april 2020) installeerden verpleeghuisorganisaties crisisteams, om snel besluiten te kunnen nemen. Omdat er nauwelijks kennis over COVID-19 beschikbaar was, hadden verpleeghuisorganisaties behoefte aan het leren van elkaars ervaringen en hadden landelijke beleidsmakers behoefte aan inzicht in wat er speelde de sector.
In de “Covid-19 Management In NUrsing homes by crisis TEamS” (COVID-19 MINUTES) studie werden notulen van crisisteams van  41 Nederlandse verpleeghuisorganisaties (samen meer dan 500 verpleeghuislocaties) verzameld van maart 2020 tot en met/m oktober 2021. Een groep onderzoekers extraheerden wekelijks uit de notulen welke maatregelen er werden genomen en welke problemen er speelden. (Twee-)wekelijks schreven we samenvattende rapportages, die we deelden met de deelnemende zorgorganisaties en met landelijke beleidsmakers, zoals het ministerie van VWS. Daarnaast werd de inhoud van de notulen wetenschappelijk geanalyseerd aan de hand van ‘content analyse’. Acht terugkerende onderwerpen in de notulen van de crisisteams waren: crisis management, isolatie- en afstandsmaatregelen, persoonlijke beschermingsmiddelen (PBM) en hygiëne, personeel (personele inzet en welzijn van personeel), testen, vaccineren, bezoekregelingen, en welzijn van bewoners en hun naasten.
Om meer diepte te kunnen geven aan de besluiten uit de notulen van crisisteams, organiseerden we ook vijf rondes van in totaal dertien panelgesprekken met  verschillende verpleeghuismedewerkers (o.a. managers, artsen, verpleegkundigen, HR- medewerkers, activiteitenbegeleiders, etc.) en cliëntenraadsleden. Deze panels prioriteerden de maatregelen die volgens hen het meest belangrijk zijn geweest om infecties onder verpleeghuisbewoners te voorkomen, welzijn van verpleeghuisbewoners te behouden, personele inzet en welzijn van personeel te behouden, en om vaccinatiebereidheid onder personeel te stimuleren. Het panelonderzoek werd uitgevoerd aan de hand van de ‘nominale groepstechniek’. De panelstudie gaf ook inzicht in de besluitvormingsprocessen van verpleeghuisorganisaties m.b.t. de genomen maatregelen.

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COVID-19 MINUTES study

What happened to the nursing homes? What issues and potential fixes were brought up in COVID-19 outbreak teams? With the COVID-19 MINUTES study we closely followed nursing homes during the pandemic. Study about COVID-19-related measures and problems in nursing homes.

Nursing home organizations installed COVID-19 outbreak teams during the first months of the pandemic (February – April 2020), to be able to make quick decisions. As hardly any knowledge about COVID-19 was available, nursing home organizations expressed the need to learn from each other’s experiences, and national policymakers needed insight into what was going on in the sector.

In the “Covid-19 Management In NUrsing homes by crisis TEamS” (COVID-19 MINUTES) study, minutes of COVID-19 outbreaks teams of 41 Dutch nursing home organizations (with more than 500 nursing home locations in total) were collected from March 2020 to October 2021. From these minutes a group of researchers extracted measures taken and occurring problems on a weekly basis. We wrote (bi-)weekly summary reports, which we shared with the participating nursing home organizations and with national policymakers such as the ministry of Health Welfare and Sports. In addition, the content of the minutes was scientifically analysed using ‘content analysis’. Eight recurring topics in the crisis teams’ minutes were: crisis management, isolation and beds, personal protective equipment and hygiene, personnel, testing, vaccination, visiting, and wellbeing of residents and informal caregivers.

Foe a more in-depth exploration of the decisions described in the minutes, we also organized five rounds of in total thirteen panel conversations with diverse nursing home staff members (managers, physicians, nurses, support services, activity supervisors, etc) and client council members. These panels prioritized the measures they believe have been most important to prevent infections among nursing home residents, maintain well-being of residents, maintain staff scheduling and well-being, and to increase vaccination willingness among staff. The panel study was carried out based on the ‘nominal group technique.’ This panel study also provided insight into the decision-making processes of nursing home organizations with regard to the measures taken.

Publicaties

Van Dijk Y, Van Tol LS, Achterberg WP, Zuidema SU, Janus SIM. COVID-19 measures implemented for nursing home staff and their perspectives on the importance of the measures: A qualitative study, International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances,Volume 6,2024,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100163. Van Tol LS, Smaling HJA, Janus SIM, Caljouw MAA, Achterberg WP, Priority measures to prevent infections and maintain residents’ well-being during COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes: Consensus among staff and resident representatives determined in an online nominal group technique study, International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, Volume 5, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100142. van Tol LS, Meester W, Caljouw MAA, Achterberg WP. Strategies to Increase Willingness to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine among Nursing Home Staff. Infectious Disease Reports. 2023; 15(1):34-42. https://doi.org/10.3390/idr15010004 van Tol LS, Smaling HJA, Meester W, Janus SIM, Zuidema SU, de Waal MWM, Caljouw MAA, Achterberg WP. Distancing Measures and Challenges Discussed by COVID-19 Outbreak Teams of Dutch Nursing Homes: The COVID-19 MINUTES Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(11):6570. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116570 Smeitink MMP, Smaling HJA, van Tol LS, Haaksma ML, Caljouw MAA, Achterberg WP. Activities for Residents of Dutch Nursing Homes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(9):5465. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095465 van Tol LS, Smaling HJA, Groothuijse JM, et alCOVID-19 management in nursing homes by outbreak teams (MINUTES) — study description and data characteristics: a qualitative studyBMJ Open 2021;11:e053235. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053235