Implementation Science Teams – Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness in Long-Term Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the health and care of older adults, with particularly devastating consequences for residents in long-term care (LTC) and retirement homes across Canada.

In response, 22 Implementation Science Teams (research teams) have partnered with 91 LTC and retirement homes from all 10 provinces. Together, they are implementing and evaluating promising practices and policies designed to keep residents, families, caregivers and staff safe from COVID-19. The promising practices cover six key areas and are from the LTC+: Acting on Pandemic Learning Together (LTC+) program. Sixty-nine LTC homes participating in LTC+ are working with the research teams.

Through the research teams, we will build evidence on what interventions are most effective, in what settings and contexts, and why. This research may also support the sustainability, spread and scale of promising practices to other homes and jurisdictions, contributing to the sector’s overall pandemic preparedness.

A Common Measurement Framework project is complementing this work to collectively identify a common set of indicators about enablers and barriers for successful and maximum impact of promising practices. The indicators are likely to include intervention characteristics; policy context; size, type and location of the home; level and mix of staff; and residents’ health and demographic characteristics.

Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness in Long-Term Care is being led by Healthcare Excellence Canada (previously Canadian Patient Safety Institute and the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement) with the following funding partners: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation and Michael Smith Health Research BC. The research will be completed by late 2021 and key insights and results will be shared.

Find out more about the 22 research teams and their work