Pandemic and Health Emergency Management in Long-Term Care: Gathering Insights from Recent Events to Inform Future Planning in British Columbia

Residents in long-term care homes in Canada are vulnerable to health emergencies, such as pandemics and natural disasters. This was shown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in many deaths of residents in care homes due to COVID-19. When disaster strikes, residents in long-term care are among the most vulnerable in society. Residents in long-term care have complex medical and social care needs related to dementia, frailty, high risk of falls, reduced mobility, language barriers, and multiple chronic illnesses among other needs. These complex needs place long-term care residents at great risk during health emergencies. For example, residents that need to be moved from their long-term care home to another site have a high chance of dying. This proposed planning project will explore the recent series of major health emergencies of British Columbia in 2021, including: 1) extreme heat resulting in many deaths, 2) wildfires and related evacuations and poor air quality, 3) widespread flooding resulting in mass evacuations, and 4) ongoing COVID-19 pandemic related management. The planning activities will include a review of recent reports from British Columbia and evidence on health emergency management in long-term care. Also, one-on-one conversations with key informants and group dialogue with the key informants and relevant stakeholders will be held to learn from their experiences. These activities will help to build a network of research collaborators across BC interested in studying pandemic and health emergency management. Also, meaningful research questions and objectives will be identified to inform the planning of a larger study. This proposed planning project and the future research stemming from this will contribute to improve long-term care homes' preparedness for health emergencies and thus ensure better continuity of care to protect the health and well-being of long-term care residents.