Maura R. GrossmanSelected publications
Selected publications / Preventing the Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Coronaviruses in Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care: A Rapid Review
Public health · Rapid evidence synthesis

Preventing the Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Coronaviruses in Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care: A Rapid Review

Patricia Rios, Amruta Radhakrishnan, Chantal Williams, Naveeta Ramkissoon, Ba’ Pham, Gordon V. Cormack, Maura R. Grossman, Matthew P. Muller, Sharon E. Straus, and Andrea C. Tricco

Systematic Reviews 9, Article 218 (2020)

An urgent review of infection-control guidance for long-term care, accelerated by continuous active learning.

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Overview

Conducted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this rapid review examined guidance for preventing coronavirus transmission among adults aged 60 and older in long-term-care facilities. The search combined conventional database and grey-literature searching with CAL, which ranked likely relevant citations for human screening.

The review identified nine clinical-practice guidelines. Common recommendations included surveillance and monitoring, personal protective equipment, distancing or cohorting, environmental cleaning, hand and respiratory hygiene, and policies supporting sick leave or limiting staff movement between facilities.

Why this paper matters. This paper demonstrates that technology developed for legal discovery can support time-critical evidence synthesis in medicine and public health. It also highlights an important substantive gap: the role of employment policies and staff movement in transmission between long-term-care facilities.

Key contributions

  • Applies CAL to a rapid systematic-review workflow.
  • Combines peer-reviewed databases, preprints, trial registries, and grey literature.
  • Synthesizes infection-prevention recommendations from nine guidelines.
  • Identifies gaps concerning staff movement, compensation, frailty, and comorbidity.

Suggested citation

Patricia Rios et al., Preventing the Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Coronaviruses in Older Adults Aged 60 Years and Above Living in Long-Term Care: A Rapid Review, 9 Systematic Reviews 218 (2020), doi:10.1186/s13643-020-01486-4.