Dr Jenni Burton - Listening and Learning: a study of Scottish care home staff experiences of managing COVID-19
Published: 28 September 2023
Dr Jenni Burton, NES/CSO Postdoctoral Clinical Lecturer in SCMH, continues her portfolio of research looking at the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those living and working in care homes in Scotland with new research published open access in BMC Geriatrics.
The ‘Listening and Learning study’ sought to address a gap in our understanding of the pandemic experience in care homes through qualitative interview research with care home staff who had experience managing outbreaks of COVID-19 within their homes. They shared emotive accounts of their experiences and reflections on the pandemic response from their perspective caring for residents.
Care homes are complex and diverse care environments. Professionals working in the sector have expertise which was under-valued and under-utilised during the pandemic. Genuine involvement needs to be embedded in service planning, policy-making and research. Further analysis is now needed on the evolving regulatory, oversight and assurance context including how to restore confidence and autonomy within the care home sector. Directive, blanket approaches to the care home population countered established principles of care home professionals’ practice, requiring individual advocacy to challenge. There is a collective need to engage in whole-system reflection, learning and reconciliation to avoid future harm.
Our work identifies key questions which are critical to inform both future pandemic planning, but also the organisation of everyday services to support care home residents including the proposed National Care Service. There is thus an urgency to add these findings into the public, professional and political discourse as a constructive contribution.
A video summary of key findings was produced by Hazel White Design and is available on Vimeo: Listening and Learning video summary
First published: 28 September 2023