Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People

These Universal Design guidelines and the research that underpins them were initiated and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic and focus on existing residential long-term care settings (RLTC) for older people in Ireland. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected older persons, and in particular, those living in residential long-term care settings (RLTC). While the primary impacts of COVID-19 were illness and death, the secondary impacts of isolation, loneliness, lack of physical activities and social interaction that resulted from infection control measures were also devastating to people living in RLTC settings.

The guidelines, informed by the research report ‘Universal Design for Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People’, focus on how the built environment in settings can be adapted or retrofitted to:

  • enhance the quality of life for residents,
  • improve the visitor experience for friends and family members (without compromising the quality of life for residents); and,
  • improve pandemic preparedness and resilience while still protecting the psychosocial health and well-being of residents.

RLTC CEUD UD Guidelines covers 090322
Universal Design Guidelines - PDF
RLTC CEUD Research Report covers 090322
Research Report - PDF
RLTC CEUD UD Guidelines covers 090322
Universal Design Guidelines - Word
RLTC CEUD Research Report covers 090322
Research Report - Word

Webinar Launch, March 11 2022.

The research and guidelines were formally launched on March 11 2022, via an on-line webinar.

Find the webinar recording at: Quality of Life & COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People - YouTube

The two-hour video of the webinar includes captions, Irish Sign Language (ISL) and is divided into chapters identified below:

0:00    Introduction, Ruth O’Reilly, CEUD

2:54    Welcome, Helen Guinan, Chair of the NDA

8:02    Launch of Research and Guidelines, Anne Rabbitte T.D., Minister of State for Disability

12:40  Research Context, Des O’Neill, Tallaght University Hospital

25:14  Residents’ testimony on their experiences of the pandemic

34:40   Research Overview, Dimitra Xidous, TrinityHaus

50:50   Research findings and guidelines, Tom Grey, TrinityHaus

1:26:48 Reflections on the project (1) Celine Clarke, Age Action

1:36:23 Reflections of the project (2) Emer Coveney, Age Friendly Ireland   

1:45:08  Questions and Answers

2:04:45  Next Steps, Des O’Neill, Tallaght University Hospital