Health care services for older people in COVID-19 pandemic times - A Nordic comparison.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the Nordic municipal health and care services' ability to promote principal goals within care for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN AND SETTING: Two surveys were conducted among managers of municipal health care services for older people in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden; the first around 6 months into the pandemic (survey 1), and the second around 12 months later (survey 2). Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, and multiple regression (OLS). SUBJECTS: 1470 (survey 1, 2020) and 745 (survey 2, 2021) managers. 32% in home care, 51% in nursing homes, 17% combined. RESULTS: In all countries the pandemic seems to have had more negative impact on eldercare services' ability to promote an active and social life, than on the ability to promote or enhance older people's mental and physical health. The regression analysis indicates that different factors influence the ability to promote these goals. Managers within nursing homes reported reduced ability to promote mental and physical health and an active social life to a significantly lower degree than managers of home care. The effect of three prevention strategies (lock down, testing, and/or organisational change), were explored. Organisational change (reorganize staff and practice, restrict use of substitutes) tended to impact the units' ability to promote a social life in a positive direction, while lock down (areas, buffets etc) tended to impact both the ability to promote mental/physical health and a social life in a negative direction. CONCLUSION: Measures that can improve opportunities for an active and social life during a pandemic should have high priority, particularily within home care.

It is important to learn from how the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 affected the municipal health and care services' ability to achieve principal goals within care for older people.The pandemic had a more negative impact on the services' ability to promote an active and social life, than on their ability to promote or enhance mental and physical health.Measures that can improve opportunities for an active and social life during a pandemic situation should have high priority, particularily within home-based care.

Older adults' experiences of participation in daily activities in Swedish assisted living.

BACKGROUND: According to Swedish law, older adults in Sweden should be able to live a good, safe, and independent life with social and healthcare provided, based on their individual needs. In assisted living in Swedish eldercare the environment affects the older adults' ability to participate in decision-making and strengthens their ability to feel meaningfulness. The ability of staff working in social and healthcare to invite older adults to participate varies. It is important to examine how older adults perceive their situation, as caregivers in eldercare tend to focus on routine work and experience difficulties in meeting the individual needs of older adults. The aim of this study was to explore how older adults in assisted living experienced participation in daily activities. METHODS: A qualitative interview study was conducted in two municipalities in the western part of Sweden. An exploratory and inductive design was used. Individual interviews were conducted with 11 older adults living in two different assisted living facilities. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The interviews resulted in three themes: Being involved, Sense of well-being, and Influenced by the context. The older adults' experiences of participation were interpreted as feelings of being involved in daily life activities, and how they felt involved in their own care and nursing. Participation created prerequisites for well-being. Sense of well-being could be related to feelings of security and social community. The organisation and work environment of the healthcare staff had a great impact on their ability to increase the participation of the older adults. The older adults were aware of the everyday work situation of the providers of social and healthcare and were Influenced by the context. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Important conditions for a good quality of life and participation for the older adults are to be treated with respect, receive information, and be able to choose. The older adults expressed several good ideas for improvements and a willingness to be involved in the development of the organisation at different levels. It is essential to invite older adults in assisted living to participate in the design of care and nursing.

Which factors are associated with COVID-19 infection incidence in care services for older people in Nordic countries? A cross-sectional survey.

AIMS: To investigate the differences between Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway regarding residential/home care units' and frontline managers' background factors, the resources allocated and measures taken during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether and how these differences were associated with COVID-19 among older people in residential/home units. METHODS: Register- and survey-based data. Responses from managers in municipal and private residential/home units. Number of municipal COVID-19 cases from national registries. Multilevel logistic multivariate regression analysis with presence of COVID-19 among older people in residential/home units as the outcome variable. RESULTS: The proportions of residential/home units with client COVID-19 cases, mid-March-April 2020 were Denmark 22.7%, Finland 9.0%, Norway 9.7% and Sweden 38.8%, most cases found in clusters. The proportions were similar among employees. Client likelihood of having COVID-19 was six-fold higher if the employees had COVID-19. Mean client cases per residential/home unit were Denmark 0.78, Finland 0.46, Norway 0.22 and Sweden 1.23. For the same municipal infection incidence class, Sweden's mean client infection levels were three-fold those of other countries. The regression analysis variables country, municipal COVID-19 incidence proportion, and care type were associated with client cases at p ⩽ .001. Compared with Denmark, the odds ratios (ORs) for Sweden, Norway and Finland were 1.86, 0.41 and 0.35 respectively. The variable difficulties in preventive testing had an OR of 1.56, p ⩽ .05. CONCLUSIONS: Municipal COVID-19 incidence, employee cases, and the lack of testing resources somewhat explained the confirmed COVID-19 cases among older people in residential/home units. A two- to five-fold unexplained inter-country difference in ORs in the multivariate analyses was notable. The level of protection of vulnerable older clients in municipal and private residential/home units differed between the included countries.

Organising and managing patient and public involvement to enhance quality improvement-Comparing a Swedish and a Dutch hospital.

As co-production approaches to quality improvement (QI) gain importance in healthcare, hospital leaders and managers are expected to organise and support such efforts. Yet, patient and public involvement (PPI) can be challenging. Hospital organisations, emphasising knowledge and evidence domains, are characterised by operational-professional rather than patient-preference led management. Thus, PPI adds aspects of influence and responsibility that are not clearly defined or understood, with limited knowledge about how it can be orchestrated. This study, therefore, aimed to explore hospital leaders' and managers' contextualised experiences of managing QI efforts involving patients, by comparing two European hospitals. The study draws on field observations and qualitative interviews with a total of 21 QI team leaders and hospital managers in a Swedish and a Dutch hospital organisation. The data were subjected to thematic analysis with a critical realist approach. Results define seven themes, or areas, in which mechanisms are at play: (1) patient involvement in hospital QI, and (2) improving outcomes for patients, originating from the strategic view of achieving the hospital vision. Furthermore, (3) societal influence, (4) knowledge and evidence, (5) complexity, (6) individual resources, and (7) cooperation are areas in which mechanisms operate in the process. These areas are equally relevant for both hospitals, yet the mechanisms involved play out differently depending on contextual structure and local means of action.

Patient involvement in quality improvement - a 'tug of war' or a dialogue in a learning process to improve healthcare?

BACKGROUND: Co-production and co-design approaches to quality improvement (QI) efforts are gaining momentum in healthcare. Yet, these approaches can be challenging, not least when it comes to patient involvement. The aim of this study was to examine what might influence QI efforts in which patients are involved, as experienced by the patients and the healthcare professionals involved. METHODS: This study involved a qualitative design inspired by the constructivist grounded theory. In one mid-sized Swedish hospital's patient process organisation, data was collected from six QI teams that involved patients in their QI efforts, addressing care paths for patients with transient, chronic and/or multiple parallel diagnoses. Field notes were collected from participant observations during 53 QI team meetings in three of the six patient processes. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 patients and 12 healthcare professionals in all the six QI teams. RESULTS: Patients were involved in QI efforts in different ways. In three of the QI teams, patient representatives attended team meetings regularly. One team consulted patient representatives on a single occasion, one team collected patient preferences structurally from individual interviews with patients, and one team combined interviews and a workshop with patients. The patients' and healthcare professionals' expressions of what might influence the QI efforts involving patients were similar in several ways. QI team members emphasized the importance of organisational structure and culture. Furthermore, they expressed a desire for ongoing interaction between patients and healthcare professionals in healthcare QI. CONCLUSIONS: QI team members recognised continuous dialogue and collective thinking by the sharing of experiences and preferences between patients and healthcare professionals as essential for achieving better matches between healthcare resources and patient needs in their QI efforts. Significant structural and cultural aspects of performing QI in complex hospital organisations were considered to be obstructions to progress. Therefore, to sustain learning and behaviour change through QI efforts at the team level, a deeper understanding of how structural and cultural aspects of QI promote or prevent success appears essential.

How might patient involvement in healthcare quality improvement efforts work-A realist literature review.

INTRODUCTION: This realist literature review, regarding active patient involvement in healthcare quality improvement (QI), seeks to identify possible mechanisms that contribute to success or failure. Furthermore, the paper outlines key considerations for organizing and supporting patient involvement in healthcare QI efforts. METHODS: Two literature searches were performed. Altogether, 1204 articles from a healthcare context were screened, focusing on improvement efforts that involve patients, healthcare professionals and/or managers and leaders. Among these, 107 articles fulfilled the chosen study selection criteria and were further analysed. Eighteen articles underwent a full realist review. In the realist synthesis, context-mechanism-outcome configurations were articulated as middle-range theories and organized thematically to generate a program theory on how active patient involvement in QI efforts might work. RESULTS: The articles exhibited a diversity of patient involvement approaches at different levels of healthcare organizations. To be successful, organizations' support of QI efforts that actively involved patients tailored the QI efforts to their context to achieve the desired outcomes, and involved the relevant microsystem members. Furthermore, it promoted interaction and partnership within the microsystem, and supported the behavioural change that follows. CONCLUSION: This realist synthesis generates a program theory for active patient involvement in QI efforts; active patient involvement can be a tool (resource), if tailored for interaction and partnership (reasoning), that leads to behaviour change (outcome) within healthcare QI efforts. The theory explains essential resource and reasoning mechanisms, and outcomes that together form guidance for healthcare organizations when managing active patient involvement in QI efforts.