Towards new care models in long-term care centers, post-pandemic reflections

Abstract

With the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, residential care models for people in a situation of dependency, particularly in long-term care centers, have been at the center of the debate. The elderly population, in general, and in particular, the institutionalized elderly, were the most affected by the pandemic. These facts derived from the pandemic, together with the change in the profile of users, make it necessary to create new models that place the elderly person at the center of care and assistance. Objective: To highlight the weaknesses and strengths of the current residential care models in small, medium and large centers and to know the degree of preparation they have to face the implementation of these new models. Methodology: The methodology is qualitative through the collection of information through interviews, observation of workers and users of different centers, as well as carrying out a bibliographic review. Results: The results are structured in 4 dimensions and 22 categories in which the responses of the 30 participants are collected. Conclusions: The different models of residential care are adapted to the characteristics of each center, taking into account architectural aspects, location, labor resources and user profiles. Assessing which is better or worse requires a very deep reflection, being very difficult to satisfy everyone.