Mapping activity

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on residents, their families and staff in residential aged care homes (RACHs) in Victoria and internationally.

In Australia, 75 percent of COVID-19-related deaths were aged care residents. Over 95 per cent of these deaths occurred in Victoria, during the ‘second coronavirus wave’ between June and September 2020.

In April 2021, the Victorian Government commissioned NARI to map research into COVID-19 in Victorian RACHs to collate a research register, identify research gaps and formulate recommendations for future research.

NARI's review of local and international literature revealed 319 relevant international publications, of which 16 were about COVID-19 in the Australian aged care context.

Our mapping study of the 319 publications provides an international perspective on COVID-19 research in aged care. Four main themes from the literature emerged:

• The need to be prepared
• The key role aged care staff play
• The need to improve residents’ access to medical care and allied health
• The need to strengthen communication and coordination between all levels of government and the health and aged care sectors.

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