Covid-19 and Influenza: Appropriate measures to prevent and control Outbreaks in nursing homes (CIAO Study)

During the covid-19 pandemic, covid-19 severely affected nursing homes in several respects. Several measures have been implemented to prevent infection with and transmission of covid-19. In addition to advantages with regard to infection prevention, these measures also relate to disadvantages in terms of experienced quality of life for residents and relatives, and experienced quality of work for healthcare professionals. The current project aimed to provide insight into what appropriate measures are to prevent and control covid-19, as well as influenza, in nursing homes. Therein, ‘appropriate’ refers to: useful to prevent/control an outbreak, as well as proportionate regarding quality of life and work. The project comprised three pillars. In the first pillar, a survey was completed among 32 nursing home organizations in the Netherlands, to provide insight into how they had prepared for outbreaks of covid-19 and influenza during winter 2022/2023. This survey was completed based on protocols and policy documents of the participating organisation, and group interviews with key persons within those organisations, In the second pillar, nursing home organizations in which a covid-19 or influenza outbreak occured, were followed. The extent to which the a priori developed infection prevention and control strategy was executed successfully, was studied, as well as corresponding barriers and facilitators. In the last pillar, focus groups were held with residents, relatives and healthcare professionals, to gain insight into their support for the different infection prevention and control measures in different outbreak scenarios.