New simulation lab will study prevention of disease in long-term care homes

Researchers at the University of New Brunswick will use robotic simulators that can breathe and talk to study how to control the spread of diseases in long-term care settings.

Long-term care facilities became a focal point during the pandemic, with outbreaks across the country claiming the lives of residents and staff members.

A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that long-term care homes were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic. 

Researchers at the simulation lab will replicate various scenarios found in long-term care settings with the goal of developing, testing, and implementing countermeasures to communicable diseases.

The robots can simulate breathing and heart rhythms, and can be controlled to speak and express their symptoms. 

Dr. Rose McCloskey from UNB's Saint John campus is leading the project, along with several other faculty members from the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences. 

"We're going to be able to create some scenarios and really identify where the risks are for the spread of pathogens and what we can do to mitigate those risks," said McCloskey. 

The Long-Term Care Simulation Lab received $200,000 in funding from the federal government through the Canada Foundation for Innovation and $50,000 from New Brunswick's Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour. 

The project also received financial support from The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, and Bird Construction, Ltd. 

Use of technology and changes to shared spaces necessary, says advocate

Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national seniors' advocacy group said it's important to have discussions about changing the built environment of long-term care homes and finding ways to mitigate the spread  of disease.

"COVID-19 is something we're going to be living with and there are future pandemics around the corner. That's layered on top of epidemics of things like the flu and pneumonia that we have every year," said Watts. 

Despite some shortfalls in the delivery of care in nursing homes in New Brunswick, Watts says the province did a better job containing COVID-19 in long-term care facilities than other jurisdictions. 

"In New Brunswick, one of the things they did very, very well was create what I'll call rapid response teams. Where there was an outbreak, they brought a special team [that] took over," said Watts. "This has actually been a model for the rest of Canada."

But staffing shortages remain a problem in long-term care homes. 

"New Brunswick has an aging population and it does not have enough staff members in long-term care for now or in the future," said Watts. 

The seniors' advocate hopes more attention will be paid to finding ways to use technology to alleviate staffing pressures and protect workers. 

"The use of technology and the investment in the age-tech sector is one part of what we really need in Canada."