The Covid-19 Pandemic in Care Homes

An Exploration of Its Impact across Regions in Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID15513640
AuthorsMarta Benet (0000-0002-7045-9242, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu), Patricia Estefanía Celi Medina (0000-0001-8110-6373, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya), Montserrat Fernández (0000-0002-9273-7426, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya), Sandra Ezquerra Samper (0000-0002-5688-7574, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue15
Pages9617-9617
Publication date2022-08-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19159617
PMID35954969
OpenAlexW4289996637
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited23

This article provides an updated picture of the enormous consequences that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-June 2020) had for older adults living in Spanish care homes. It aims to describe the regional variation in deaths among home care residents through a methodological triangulation of descriptive quantitative, ecological and documentary analysis. Figures of five different indicators of care home mortality are provided and some factors related to higher mortality rates are presented and analysed in the descriptive ecological analysis in order to depict trends and, in a linear regression, to determine their statistical significance. The clearest trend reflected by the data is that the higher the cumulative incidence and the number of care home beds in the surrounding area, the higher the COVID-19 care home mortality. We argue that the pandemic has brought to light the historical fragility and underdevelopment of the Spanish LTC sector, and that these factors have exacerbated the consequences of the pandemic. Finally, we conclude that publicly available and disaggregated data would allow a deeper and more accurate analysis of potentially explanatory factors such as the type of care home ownership and management, and that further qualitative research would shed more light on people's experiences

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Descriptive statistics · Ecological study · Geography · Pandemic · Population · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Demography · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies