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COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in 138 Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-sectional Survey-based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic
Brito Fernandes, Ó.; Lobo Julião, P.; Klazinga, N.; Kringos, D.; Marques, N. COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2021, 18, 7983.
Brito Fernandes, Ó.; Lobo Julião, P.; Klazinga, N.; Kringos, D.; Marques, N. COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7983.
Brito Fernandes, Ó.; Lobo Julião, P.; Klazinga, N.; Kringos, D.; Marques, N. COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2021, 18, 7983.
Brito Fernandes, Ó.; Lobo Julião, P.; Klazinga, N.; Kringos, D.; Marques, N. COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7983.
Abstract
(1) Background: Nursing homes’ preparedness in managing a public health crisis has been fragile, with effects on safety culture. The objective of this study was to assess nursing homes’ COVID-19 preparedness in Southern Portugal, including personnel’s work experiences during the pandemic. (2) Methods: We used a COVID-19 preparedness checklist to be completed by management teams, followed by follow-up calls to nursing homes. Thereafter, a survey to personnel was applied. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and thematic analysis of open-end questions. (3) Results: In total, 71% (138/195) of eligible nursing homes returned the preparedness checklist. We conducted 83 follow-up calls and received 720 replies to the personnel survey. On average, 25% of nursing homes did not have an adequate decision-making structure to respond to the pandemic. Outbreak capacity and training were fragile areas among nursing homes’ contingency plans. We identified compliance with procedures and nonpunitive response to mistakes as fragile areas of safety culture, and teamwork as a strong safety area. (4) Conclusions: To strengthen how nursing homes cope with upcoming phases of the COVID-19 pandemic or future public health emergencies, nursing homes’ preparedness and safety culture should be fostered and closely monitored.
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2; Care home; Long-term care; Social care; Preparedness; Contingency plan; Safety culture; Workforce; Survey
Subject
Social Sciences, Safety Research
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
