Dr Nantanit Van Gulik1,2, Ms Wendy Calder3, Ms Philippa Blencowe1,3, Ms Alex Mikus-Cunningham3, Dr Stephane Bouchoucha1,4,5, Ms Roslyn Carmichael3, Dr Tejashree Kangutkar6,7, Professor Julie Considine1,2
1School of Nursing and Midwifery and Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 2Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research – Eastern Health Partnership, 3Eastern Health, 4Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR), Deakin University, 5Manipal College of Nursing (MCON), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), 6eviDent Foundation, Australian Dental Association, 7Melbourne Dental School
Biography:
Dr Nantanit (Rainie) van Gulik is a Research Fellow at Deakin University’s Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research–Eastern Health Partnership. A registered nurse in Australia and Thailand, she has extensive experience in clinical nursing, infection prevention and control, nursing education and health services research. Her research focuses on infection prevention and control, antimicrobial stewardship, patient safety and residential aged care. Rainie leads research exploring how staff, older people and carers understand and participate in infection prevention and control in residential aged care homes. She is committed to translating research into person-centred, evidence-based practice that improves safety and quality of care.
Abstract:
Introduction
Older people living in residential aged care homes (RACHs) are highly vulnerable to infections. Effective infection prevention and control (IPC) requires everyone’s involvement; however, the perspectives of older people and carers remain underexplored. This study aimed to explore older people’s and carers’ perceptions of their roles in IPC in RACHs.
Methods
A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 13 older people and carers from two public RACHs in Melbourne, Australia, between May and October 2024. Audio recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Three themes were identified: (i) Shared responsibility captures the view that everyone in RACHs should contribute to IPC; (ii) Challenges in making IPC measures person-centred describes barriers such as cognitive impairment, mask-wearing and gaps in care; and (iii) “Leave me alone—it’s my home” highlights participants’ reliance on their own judgment when deciding whether to follow IPC measures and their strong desire to return to normal life after pandemic-related restrictions.
Conclusion
The findings highlight an urgent need to incorporate older people’s and carers’ perspectives through co-designed approaches to develop practical, person-centred IPC strategies that balance infection prevention with preserving older people’s autonomy, dignity, and sense of home.