- Project status
- Ongoing
- Contact
- Le Khanh Ngan Nguyen
- Institution web page
- https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/persons/le-khanh-ngan-nguyen/publications/
- Host institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Team members
- Strathclyde University: Le Khanh Ngan Nguyen, Dr Itamar Megiddo, Professor Susan Howick, Gillian Hopkins Anderson, Dr Robert Van Der Meer HSCP Lanarkshire: Dennis McLafferty Public Health Medicine - NHS Lanarkshire: Dr. Sahaya Josephine Pravinkumar
- Funding information (if funded)
- SRSS - University REA and DHSC
- Project Summary
Background
Scottish care homes are vulnerable to the widespread transmission of COVID-19 and poor outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately high fatality rates among older adults, particularly those with comorbidities.
Care homes provide health and care services for approximately 40,000 residents, of which the majority are elders with complex medical and care needs.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the care homes within Lanarkshire, similar to other local authorities. While there is a plethora of research focusing on the spread of COVID-19 in the general population, research on the unique transmission dynamics and interventions for COVID-19 in care homes is negligible.
Infection control interventions in care homes need to be both effective in containing the spread of COVID-19 and also feasible to implement in this setting which has a dual nature: a healthcare institution and a home.
Research Aims
This research aim to:
- evaluate the effectiveness of a range of interventions strategies in controlling COVID-19 in care homes
- investigate the impact of staff sharing between care homes in Lanarkshire on the inter-facility transmission of COVID-19
- answer emerging questions for care home stakeholders from Lanarkshire
- Outputs / Expected Outputs
Analysis 1: An evaluation of interventions implemented in care homes early on and an evaluation of additional interventions on top of these, including testing of staff and testing of residents – Evaluating intervention strategies in controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread in care homes: An agent-based model – PubMed (nih.gov)
Analysis 2: An evaluation of visiting policy in care homes as well as cohorting of staff and residents within care home – paper published July 2021:
Impact of visitation and cohorting policies to shield residents from covid-19 spread in care homes: an agent-based mode:
https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(21)00462-4/fulltext
Analysis 3: Impacts of various vaccination coverages on the spread of Covid-19 and deaths in care homes, report available here.
Analysis 4: An examination of the impact of reducing weekly testing of staff for different vaccination coverages of care home residents and staff (Please see Publications and other Outputs section below).
Paper published in Plos Computational Biology in January 2022:
Hybrid simulation modelling of networks of heterogenous care homes and the inter-facility spread of Covid-19 by sharing staff
https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009780
- Project website
- https://www.strath.ac.uk/research/subjects/managementscience/healthsystems/controllingthespreadofcovid-19incarehomes/
- Report-3_Care-homes_Vaccination_Strathclyde.pdf
- Analysis 4: An examination of the impact of reducing weekly testing of staff for different vaccination coverages of care home residents and staff
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Care setting
- Care homes/LTC facilities
- Funding type
- Public
- Impact/outcomes
- COVID-19 Infection rates | Deaths
- Intervention types
- Cohorting and isolation approaches | Modelling and data analysis to inform strategies | Preventing/controlling COVID-19 infections | Testing approaches
- Methods
- Trials and other evaluations
- Groups/organisations
- Care provider/care organisations | People living in care homes | Staff working in long-term care