scholarly journals Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Nursing Home Staff and the Need for Ongoing Education and Vaccine Access

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-05
Author(s):  
Ammu Thampi Susheela ◽  
Dheeraj Mahajan ◽  
Lori Porter
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care Facilities

Objective: To study vaccine hesitancy among health care workers who provide direct care in nursing homes and long term care facilities which cater to the most vulnerable population of the community. Design: This is a cross sectional cohort study Setting and participants: The study was conducted on the front line healthcare workers who work in long term care facilities. Methods: A nationwide survey was conducted on the certified nurse assistants on November 16th 2020 which reached 7000 survey recipients. Results: Out of 7000 survey recipients, 3119 responded (45% response rate). There was 71.6% (2,233) negative response about taking the covid19 vaccine due to lack of trust and education of information Conclusions and implications: Our study concluded that the vaccine hesitancy is high among the health care workers of long-term care facility and that ongoing education and interactive dialogue with certified nurse assistants and ongoing access to vaccine is critical as the willingness improves.

scholarly journals COVID-19: first long-term care facility outbreak in the Netherlands following cross-border introduction from Germany, March 2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch van Hensbergen ◽  
Casper D.J. den Heijer ◽  
Petra Wolffs ◽  
Volker Hackert ◽  
Henriette L.G. ter Waarbeek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Regional Hospital ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Long Term Care Facility ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background: The Dutch province of Limburg borders the German district of Heinsberg, which had a large cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to local carnival activities in February, before any cases were reported in the Netherlands. However, Heinsberg was not included as an area reporting local or community transmission per the national case definition at the time. In early March, two residents from a long-term care facility (LTCF) in Sittard, a Dutch town located in close vicinity to the district of Heinsberg, started experiencing respiratory symptoms and were admitted to the regional hospital at which they were tested for COVID-19. Introduction of the virus could have occurred following the carnival activities in the surrounding area by LTCF visitors or health care workers.Methods: Surveys and semi-structured oral interviews were conducted with all present residents by health care workers during regular points of care for information on new or unusual signs and symptoms of disease. Both throat and nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from residents suspect of COVID-19 for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction and whole genome sequencing was performed using a SARS-CoV-2 specific amplicon-based Nanopore sequencing approach. Additionally, twelve random residents were sampled for possible asymptomatic infections.Results: Since the start of the outbreak, nineteen (19%) residents tested positive for COVID-19. Eleven samples were sequenced, along with three random samples from COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the regional hospital at the time of the LTCF outbreak. Conclusions: All samples were linked to COVID-19 cases from the cross-border region of Heinsberg, Germany. Symptoms were reported only in about two third of the cases, and tended to be generally mild. We therefore recommend low-level screening of HCWs and residents following a confirmed COVID-19 case, even in the absence of symptoms. Since the LTCF residents who tested positive did not meet the criteria for suspect cases of COVID-19 at the time, this highlights the importance of cooperation among cross-border partners in order to establish a coordinated implementation of infection control measures in the region on top of national guidelines to limit the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

scholarly journals The Impact of Rhode Island's Mandatory Health Care Worker Influenza Vaccination Regulation on Influenza Incidence in Long-Term Care Facility Residents

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Chicoine
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Influenza Vaccination ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Impact

Seasonal influenza is a serious public health problem that contributes to significant morbidity and mortality locally, nationally, and globally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza has caused between 9.2 million and 60.8 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 710,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths annually since 2010, and approximately 80- 90 percent of influenza related deaths occurred in people 65 years and older. In 2012, prompted by the mounting\ evidence of the risk of nosocomial influenza infection for patients and low influenza vaccination rates of health care workers, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) amended its Rules and Regulations for Immunization and Testing for Healthcare Workers. This amendment included mandatory influenza vaccinations for all health care workers, students, volunteers, and trainees who have direct patient contact within a health care facility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the regulation of mandating influenza vaccination for health care workers in Rhode Island on influenza incidence, hospitalizations, and deaths of residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF). Surveillance data for influenza incidence, hospitalizations, and deaths among residents of LTCF pre and post the policy implementation are analyzed and results presented. Policy and practice implications for public health nursing are discussed.

scholarly journals COVIDApp as an Innovative Strategy for the Management and Follow-Up of COVID-19 Cases in Long-Term Care Facilities in Catalonia: Implementation Study

10.2196/21163 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e21163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Echeverría ◽  
Miquel Angel Mas Bergas ◽  
Jordi Puig ◽  
Mar Isnard ◽  
Mireia Massot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care Facilities

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented worldwide public health crisis that requires new management approaches. COVIDApp is a mobile app that was adapted for the management of institutionalized individuals in long-term care facilities. Objective The aim of this paper is to report the implementation of this innovative tool for the management of long-term care facility residents as a high-risk population, specifically for early identification and self-isolation of suspected cases, remote monitoring of mild cases, and real-time monitoring of the progression of the infection. Methods COVIDApp was implemented in 196 care centers in collaboration with 64 primary care teams. The following parameters of COVID-19 were reported daily: signs/symptoms; diagnosis by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction; absence of symptoms for ≥14 days; total deaths; and number of health care workers isolated with suspected COVID-19. The number of at-risk centers was also described. Results Data were recorded from 10,347 institutionalized individuals and up to 4000 health care workers between April 1 and 30, 2020. A rapid increase in suspected cases was seen until day 6 but decreased during the last two weeks (from 1084 to 282 cases). The number of confirmed cases increased from 419 (day 6) to 1293 (day 22) and remained stable during the last week. Of the 10,347 institutionalized individuals, 5,090 (49,2%) remained asymptomatic for ≥14 days. A total of 854/10,347 deaths (8.3%) were reported; 383 of these deaths (44.8%) were suspected/confirmed cases. The number of isolated health care workers remained high over the 30 days, while the number of suspected cases decreased during the last 2 weeks. The number of high-risk long-term care facilities decreased from 19/196 (9.5%) to 3/196 (1.5%). Conclusions COVIDApp can help clinicians rapidly detect and remotely monitor suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 among institutionalized individuals, thus limiting the risk of spreading the virus. The platform shows the progression of infection in real time and can aid in designing new monitoring strategies.

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