Dataset Information

Quantifying the roles of vomiting, diarrhea, and residents vs. staff in norovirus transmission in U.S. nursing home outbreaks.

ABSTRACT: The role of individual case characteristics, such as symptoms or demographics, in norovirus transmissibility is poorly understood. Six nursing home norovirus outbreaks occurring in South Carolina, U.S. from 2014 to 2016 were examined. We aimed to quantify the contribution of symptoms and other case characteristics in norovirus transmission using the reproduction number (REi) as an estimate of individual case infectivity and to examine how transmission changes over the course of an outbreak. Individual estimates of REi were calculated using a maximum likelihood procedure to infer the average number of secondary cases generated by each case. The associations between case characteristics and REi were estimated using a weighted multivariate mixed linear model. Outbreaks began with one to three index case(s) with large estimated REi's (range: 1.48 to 8.70) relative to subsequent cases. Of the 209 cases, 155 (75%) vomited, 164 (79%) had diarrhea, and 158 (76%) were nursing home residents (vs. staff). Cases who vomited infected 2.12 (95% CI: 1.68, 2.68) times the number of individuals as non-vomiters, cases with diarrhea infected 1.39 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.87) times the number of individuals as cases without diarrhea, and resident-cases infected 1.53 (95% CI: 1.15, 2.02) times the number of individuals as staff-cases. Index cases tended to be residents (vs. staff) who vomited and infected considerably more secondary cases compared to non-index cases. Results suggest that individuals, particularly residents, who vomit are more infectious and tend to drive norovirus transmission in U.S. nursing home norovirus outbreaks. While diarrhea also plays a role in norovirus transmission, it is to a lesser degree than vomiting in these settings. Results lend support for prevention and control measures that focus on cases who vomit, particularly if those cases are residents.

SUBMITTER: Adams C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7135310 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Quantifying the roles of vomiting, diarrhea, and residents vs. staff in norovirus transmission in U.S. nursing home outbreaks.

Adams Carly C Young David D Gastañaduy Paul A PA Paul Prabasaj P Marsh Zach Z Hall Aron J AJ Lopman Benjamin A BA

PLoS computational biology 20200325 3

The role of individual case characteristics, such as symptoms or demographics, in norovirus transmissibility is poorly understood. Six nursing home norovirus outbreaks occurring in South Carolina, U.S. from 2014 to 2016 were examined. We aimed to quantify the contribution of symptoms and other case characteristics in norovirus transmission using the reproduction number (REi) as an estimate of individual case infectivity and to examine how transmission changes over the course of an outbreak. Indi ...[more]

PMID: 32210423

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Project description:ObjectivesTo explore experiences of U.S. (United States) nursing home leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in their efforts to address resident loneliness and social isolation and to elicit stories about personal and professional impacts on themselves and staff.DesignQualitative inquiry via three optional open-ended questions appended to a national self-administered survey of American nursing home leaders was employed. Textual data was analyzed using an iterative reflexive thematic approach.Setting and participantsA stratified sample frame defined by facility size (beds: 30-99, 100+) and quality ratings (1, 2-4, 5) was employed. Web survey links and paper surveys were sent to 1,676 nursing home directors of nursing between February and May 2022.ResultsOpen text responses were collected from 271 nursing homes. Broad themes included: 1) Addressing needs of residents & families; 2) Challenges; and 3) Personal experiences of nursing home leadership/staff. Respondents described trauma to residents, staff, and leadership. Resident loneliness was addressed using existing and newer technologies and innovative indoor and outdoor activities. Residents experienced fear, illness, loss, and sometimes death. Isolation from family and lack of touch were particularly difficult. Regulations were seen as punitive while ignoring emotional needs of residents. Staffing challenges and pressures to do more with less created additional stress. Leadership and staff made significant sacrifices resulting in physical, social, and emotional consequences. Beneficial outcomes included staff bonding, professional growth, and permanent implementation of new interventions.Conclusions and implicationsNew and creative interventions were successfully implemented to address social isolation and loneliness. Improved Wi-Fi and other nursing home infrastructure upgrades are needed to maintain them. Reimagining often conflicting overlapping federal, state, and local regulations, grounding them in good clinical judgement, and incentivizing performance improvement should be considered. Trauma experienced by staff needs to be addressed to deal with current and future workforce needs.

Project description:BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:Secondary prevention medications are recommended for older adults after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but little is known about whether nursing home (NH) residents receive these medications. The objective was to evaluate new use of secondary prevention medications after AMI in NH residents who were previously nonusers and to evaluate what factors were associated with use. DESIGN:Retrospective cohort using linked national Minimum Data Set assessments; Online Survey, Certification and Reporting records; and Medicare claims. SETTING:U.S. NHs. PARTICIPANTS:National cohort of 11,192 NH residents aged 65 and older who were hospitalized for an AMI between May 2007 and March 2010, had no beta-blocker or statin use for 4 months or longer before the hospitalization, and survived 14 days or more after NH readmission. MEASUREMENTS:The outcome was the number of secondary prevention medications initiated within 30 days of NH readmission. RESULTS:Thirty-seven percent of residents had no secondary prevention medications initiated after AMI, 41% had 1 initiated, and 22% had 2 initiated. After covariate adjustment, fewer secondary prevention medications were used in older residents (proportional odds ratio (POR) = 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.40-0.57 for ?95 vs 65-74); women (POR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.80-0.96);and those with a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order (POR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.83-0.98), functional impairment (dependent or totally dependent vs independent to limited assistance, POR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.69-0.86), and cognitive impairment (moderate to severe vs no impairment, POR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.70-0.89). CONCLUSION:More than one-third of older NH residents in the United States do not have any secondary prevention medications initiated after AMI, with fewer medications initiated in older residents; women; and those with, DNR orders, poor physical function, and cognitive impairment. A lack of evidence about the safety and effectiveness of secondary preventions medications in the NH population and unmeasured person-centered goals of care are plausible explanations for these findings.

Project description:ObjectivesEstimates of influenza vaccine use are not available at the county level for U.S. nursing home (NH) residents but are critically necessary to guide the implementation of quality improvement programs aimed at increasing vaccination. Furthermore, estimates that account for differences in resident characteristics between counties are unavailable. We estimated risk-standardized vaccination rates (RSVRs) among short- and long-stay NH residents by U.S. county and identified drivers of geographic variation.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing 100% of 2013-2015 fee-for-service Medicare claims, Minimum Data Set assessments, Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports, and Long-Term Care: Facts on Care in the U.S. We separately evaluated short-stay (<100 days) and long-stay (≥100 days) residents aged 65 and older across the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 influenza seasons. We estimated RSVRs via hierarchical logistic regression adjusting for 32 resident-level covariates. We then used multivariable linear regression models to assess associations between county-level NHs predictors and RSVRs.ResultsThe study cohort consisted of 2,817,217 residents in 14,658 NHs across 2798 counties. Short-stay residents had lower RSVRs than long-stay residents (2013-2014: median [interquartile range], 69.6% [62.8-74.5] vs 84.0% [80.8-86.4]), and there was wide variation within each population (range, 11.4-89.8 vs 49.1-92.6). Several modifiable facility-level characteristics were associated with increased RSVRs, including higher registered nurse to total nurse ratio and higher total staffing for licensed practical nurses, speech-language pathologists, and social workers. Characteristics associated with lower RSVRs included higher percentage of residents restrained, with a pressure ulcer, and NH-level hospitalizations per resident-year.ConclusionsSubstantial county-level variation in influenza vaccine use exists among short- and long-stay NH residents. Quality improvement interventions to improve vaccination rates can leverage these results to target NHs located in counties with lower risk-standardized vaccine use.

Project description:Background. Quality staff-resident communication is crucial to promote outcomes in nursing home residents with dementia requiring assistance during mealtimes. Better understanding of staff-resident language characteristics in mealtime interactions help promote effective communication, yet evidence is limited. This study aimed to examine factors associated with language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions. Methods. This was a secondary analysis of 160 mealtime videos involving 36 staff and 27 residents with dementia (53 unique staff-resident dyads) in 9 nursing homes. We examined the associations of speaker (resident vs. staff), utterance quality (negative vs. positive), intervention (pre- vs. post-communication intervention), and resident dementia stage and comorbidities with expression length (number of words in each utterance) and addressing partner by name (whether staff or resident named their partner in each utterance), respectively. Results. Staff (utterance n = 2990, 99.1% positive, mean = 4.3 words per utterance) predominated conversations and had more positive, longer utterances than residents (utterance n = 890, 86.7% positive, mean = 2.6 words per utterance). As residents progressed from moderately-severe to severe dementia, both residents and staff produced shorter utterances (z=-2.66, p = .009). Staff (18%) named residents more often than residents (2.0%; z = 8.14, p < .0001) and when assisting residents with more severe dementia (z = 2.65, p = .008). Conclusions. Staff-resident communication was primarily positive, staff-initiated, and resident-oriented. Utterance quality and dementia stage were associated with staff-resident language characteristics. Staff play a critical role in mealtime care communication and should continue to initiate resident-oriented interactions using simple, short expressions to accommodate resident declining language abilities, particularly those with severe dementia. Staff should practice addressing residents by their names more frequently to promote individualized, targeted, person-centered mealtime care. Future work may further examine staff-resident language characteristics at word and other levels using more diverse samples.

Project description:BackgroundQuality staff-resident communication is crucial to promote outcomes in nursing home residents with dementia requiring assistance during mealtimes. Better understanding of staff-resident language characteristics in mealtime interactions help promote effective communication, yet evidence is limited. This study aimed to examine factors associated with language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions.MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of 160 mealtime videos involving 36 nursing staff and 27 residents with moderately severe to severe dementia in 9 nursing homes. Mixed-effects models was used to examine the relationships between factors and language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions. The independent variables were speaker (resident vs. staff), utterance quality (negative vs. positive), intervention (pre- vs. post-communication intervention), and resident dementia stage and comorbidities. The dependent variables were expression length (number of words in each utterance) and addressing partner by name (whether staff or resident named their partner in each utterance). All models included staff, resident, and staff-resident dyad as random effects.ResultsStaff (utterance n = 2990, 99.1% positive, mean = 4.3 words per utterance) predominated conversations and had more positive, longer utterances than residents (utterance n = 890, 86.7% positive, mean = 2.6 words per utterance). As residents progressed from moderately severe to severe dementia, both residents and staff produced shorter utterances (z=-2.66, p = .009). Staff (18%) named residents more often than residents (2.0%; z = 8.14, p < .0001) and when assisting residents with more severe dementia (z = 2.65, p = .008).ConclusionsStaff-resident communication was primarily positive, staff-initiated, and resident-oriented. Utterance quality and dementia stage were associated with staff-resident language characteristics. Staff play a critical role in mealtime care communication and should continue to initiate resident-oriented interactions using simple, short expressions to accommodate resident declining language abilities, particularly those with severe dementia. Staff should practice addressing residents by their names more frequently to promote individualized, targeted, person-centered mealtime care. Future work may further examine staff-resident language characteristics at other levels of language using more diverse samples.

Dataset Information

Quantifying the roles of vomiting, diarrhea, and residents vs. staff in norovirus transmission in U.S. nursing home outbreaks.

Publications

Quantifying the roles of vomiting, diarrhea, and residents vs. staff in norovirus transmission in U.S. nursing home outbreaks.

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