2022 Theses Master's

The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Policy Decisions on the Wellbeing of Nursing Home Residents in Missouri

White, Jera

Residents in nursing homes have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as their living situations and health statuses render them especially vulnerable to serious illness from the virus. Federal and state governing bodies have made policy decisions over the last two years that attempted to protect residents and staff in these facilities from Covid-19 infection. The prevailing literature argues that pre-existing issues in the nursing home sector, such as staffing shortages, oversight failures, design flaws, underinvestment, and ageism, were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, causing care quality to decline.

This project argues that certain policy decisions made specifically to address the challenges of the pandemic also contributed to reductions in care quality in these spaces. While these policies were largely successful at reducing the spread of Covid-19, they inadequately accounted for the unique needs of nursing home residents, such as socialization and access to health advocates, and as a result, were the source of new deficiencies in care delivery and resident wellbeing. The thesis concludes by discussing two new policies that represent positive steps toward rectifying the mistakes made during the pandemic and building a safer future for nursing home residents.