Reducing reliance on surveillance Rapid Antigen Tests in Residential Aged Care: a view to long-term COVID-19 management and worker satisfaction
Jemma Shirra-Gibb1,
Background
Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF) remain a high-risk environment for the outbreak of COVID-19 due to vulnerabilities of the aged population. Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) are used to screen staff at RACFs, though fatigue with this process has logistical implications for aged care organisations.
Actions
A 4-week trial was established at a mid-sized RACF to evaluate the risks and benefits of reducing the required RAT frequency for staff from daily to twice weekly. Workers completed one RAT between Monday and Wednesday and one RAT between Thursday and Sunday. Adherence rates and staff attitudes toward risk were investigated.
Results
No cases of COVID-19 were recorded at the RACF during the trial. The average weekly adherence rate was 69.9%. Language barriers and forgetting to record results were reasons given for errors made by staff (one error – 34%, 2 or more errors – 26%). Survey results revealed staff held a risk-averse attitude toward COVID-19, with 3 themes identified; safety through other infection prevention and control measures, effective use of time, and balancing worker satisfaction. 20% of respondents indicated they had considered leaving the organisation due to the daily RAT requirement.
Conclusion
Decreasing the staff RAT schedule to twice-weekly did not cause an outbreak to occur in the RACF, potentially due to the the safety-conscious attitude of staff and their adherence to other measures that mitigate transmission risk. The reduction in RAT schedule increased staff satisfaction, which has significant implications for an industry already facing chronic workforce shortages and retention issues.
Biography
Jemma is currently an Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse with experience working in various settings and has a passion for caring for vulnerable populations. She received a Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Psychology from Deakin University, and is currently studying a Master of Public Health and Master of Infectious Diseases Intelligence at UNSW. Jemma has an interest in communicable disease disaster management and epidemiology.