Community Care, Unnan City Hospital, 96-1 Iida, Daito-cho, Unnan, Shimane 699-1221, Japan.
Department of Community Medicine Management, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 28;18(11):5805. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18115805.
This study aimed to clarify the effect of coronavirus disease (hereafter, COVID-19) control on patients' health conditions and staff's working conditions in rural nursing homes. An interventional study including all staff and patients in a rural nursing home was performed from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2021. Infection control measures against COVID-19 were initiated on 1 April 2020. The primary outcome was the frequency of patients' medical care visits to the outpatient and emergency departments. The secondary outcome was the number of days-off taken by staff. Each group (pre- and post-COVID-19 control groups) had 48 participants. The number of visits to the outpatient department reduced from the pre-COVID-19 to post-COVID-19 control period the difference in number of visits to the emergency department was not significant, due to the low statistical power. The number of days-off taken by the staff was increased from the pre-COVID-19 to post-COVID-19 control period. This is the first study investigating COVID-19 control measures in a rural nursing home. It may help reduce the number of patient visits to medical facilities without increasing the risk of emergencies. A strict health check of the staff can allow staff to take more days off in rural contexts.
本研究旨在阐明农村养老院中针对新冠病毒疾病（以下简称 COVID-19）的防控措施对患者健康状况和员工工作状况的影响。我们对 2019 年 4 月 1 日至 2021 年 3 月 31 日期间的所有员工和患者进行了一项干预研究。从 2020 年 4 月 1 日开始实施 COVID-19 防控感染措施。主要结局是患者前往门诊和急诊部门就诊的频率。次要结局是员工的休假天数。每组（COVID-19 防控前和防控后组）各有 48 名参与者。与 COVID-19 防控前相比，COVID-19 防控后前往门诊的次数减少，但由于统计效能较低，急诊就诊次数的差异不显著。与 COVID-19 防控前相比，COVID-19 防控后员工的休假天数增加。这是第一项针对农村养老院 COVID-19 防控措施的研究。它可能有助于减少患者前往医疗机构就诊的次数，同时不会增加紧急情况的风险。对员工进行严格的健康检查可以让员工在农村地区有更多的休假时间。
