Alten- und Pflegeheime – die COVID-19-Pandemie als Mahnung: Infektionshygienische Maßnahmen und Einflussfaktoren auf die Gesundheit der Bewohnenden

The COVID-19 pandemic once again highlighted the vulnerability of residents of long-term care facilities due to their increased risk of a severe or fatal course of COVID-19. To protect the residents in the face of high incidences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2) in the general population, a number of measures for infection protection were recommended, which led to a decrease of COVID-19 case numbers and deaths in the facilities during the pandemic. However, factors in the facilities that hampered the implementation of these measures and represented a significant impact on the health of the residents also became visible. The challenges concern working conditions (e.g., lack of staff, both in general and with corresponding competencies, and work-related stress), the care of residents (e.g., medical and psychosocial), and structural as well as facility-related factors (e.g., facility size). Approaches to these problems indicate that a successful implementation of infection control measures should be part of a concept for redesigning the work and living conditions of the staff and residents of the facilities. It is important to note that infection control should not be planned exclusively with regard to future pandemics, but is of relevance for health risks that already exist in the facilities, such as healthcare-associated infections, antibiotic resistances, or influenza.