Page 122 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 120 sential for safe work. The students also noticed the lack of checking of staff’s
consistency at work, reduced personal contact between staff and residents due
to the PPE, lack of knowledge regarding proper PPE use as well as virus proper-
ties. Based on a quote from a student who concluded that the changing guide-
lines mean it probably does not matter how gloves are used, we can underscore
the importance of clear guidelines for ensuring awareness of the value of cer-
tain measures. Another student report shows that external checking of PPE
use and compliance with the measures can make staff more consistent in those
areas. Better knowledge about the virus and PPE use can also lead to greater
consistency. This also affects staff’s perception of the seriousness of the situa-
tion. The findings allow us to confirm that staff shortages impact the work and
well-being of staff as well as the residents’ quality of life. Enough staff means
less workload and less exhaustion for staff, and this positively affects the quali-
ty of work and number of mistakes made. When there are enough staff, it is al-
so easier to organise proper social activities and contacts for residents, which
considerably impact the residents’ health and well-being (Simard and Volicer,
2020). Shortcomings that surfaced during the COVID-19 epidemic should be
pointed out, along with errors in the work process. Further research on these
issues in our environment could assist our nursing home systems in being bet-
ter prepared for potential, similar situations. Our findings may serve as a start-
ing point for that. They could also serve as a starting point for recommenda-
tions for better and safer working and living in these facilities for both staff and
residents.
References
BHAGAVATHULA, A.S., ALDHALEEI, W.A., RAHMANI, J., MAHABADI,
M.A. and BANDARI, DK., 2020. Knowledge and Perceptions of COV-
ID-19 Among Health Care Workers: Cross-Sectional Study. Public Health
and Surveillance, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. e19160. Available from: https://publi-
chealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e19160/.
LOFTI, M., HAMBLIN, M.R. and REZAEI, N., 2020. COVID-19: Transmis-
sion, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities. Clinica Chim-
ica Acta, no. 508, pp. 254-266. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/32474009/.
NIJZ (2020). Priporočila za preprečevanje in zajezitev okužb z virusom SARS-
COV-2 v socialno varstvenih zavodih. [online]. [viewed 21 November 2020].
Available from: https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/up-
loaded/priporocila-za-preprecevanje-in-zajezitev-okuzb-z-viru-
som-sars-cov-2-16.10.2020.pdf.
SIMARD, J. and VOLICER, L., (2020). Loneliness and isolation in long-term
care and the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMDA, vol. 2020, no. 21, pp. 966e967.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2020.05.006.
consistency at work, reduced personal contact between staff and residents due
to the PPE, lack of knowledge regarding proper PPE use as well as virus proper-
ties. Based on a quote from a student who concluded that the changing guide-
lines mean it probably does not matter how gloves are used, we can underscore
the importance of clear guidelines for ensuring awareness of the value of cer-
tain measures. Another student report shows that external checking of PPE
use and compliance with the measures can make staff more consistent in those
areas. Better knowledge about the virus and PPE use can also lead to greater
consistency. This also affects staff’s perception of the seriousness of the situa-
tion. The findings allow us to confirm that staff shortages impact the work and
well-being of staff as well as the residents’ quality of life. Enough staff means
less workload and less exhaustion for staff, and this positively affects the quali-
ty of work and number of mistakes made. When there are enough staff, it is al-
so easier to organise proper social activities and contacts for residents, which
considerably impact the residents’ health and well-being (Simard and Volicer,
2020). Shortcomings that surfaced during the COVID-19 epidemic should be
pointed out, along with errors in the work process. Further research on these
issues in our environment could assist our nursing home systems in being bet-
ter prepared for potential, similar situations. Our findings may serve as a start-
ing point for that. They could also serve as a starting point for recommenda-
tions for better and safer working and living in these facilities for both staff and
residents.
References
BHAGAVATHULA, A.S., ALDHALEEI, W.A., RAHMANI, J., MAHABADI,
M.A. and BANDARI, DK., 2020. Knowledge and Perceptions of COV-
ID-19 Among Health Care Workers: Cross-Sectional Study. Public Health
and Surveillance, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. e19160. Available from: https://publi-
chealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e19160/.
LOFTI, M., HAMBLIN, M.R. and REZAEI, N., 2020. COVID-19: Transmis-
sion, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities. Clinica Chim-
ica Acta, no. 508, pp. 254-266. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/32474009/.
NIJZ (2020). Priporočila za preprečevanje in zajezitev okužb z virusom SARS-
COV-2 v socialno varstvenih zavodih. [online]. [viewed 21 November 2020].
Available from: https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/up-
loaded/priporocila-za-preprecevanje-in-zajezitev-okuzb-z-viru-
som-sars-cov-2-16.10.2020.pdf.
SIMARD, J. and VOLICER, L., (2020). Loneliness and isolation in long-term
care and the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMDA, vol. 2020, no. 21, pp. 966e967.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2020.05.006.
