Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People - Universal Design Guidelines

Editorial Information: Centre for Excellence in Universal Design - National Disability Authority 

These guidelines, informed by the research ‘Universal Design for Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People’, focus on how the built environment in settings can be adapted or retrofitted to:

• Enhance the quality of life for residents.
• Improve the visitor experience for friends and family members (without compromising the quality of life for residents.
• Improve pandemic preparedness and resilience while still protecting the psychosocial health and well-being of residents.

RLTC settings for older people are also referred to as ‘nursing homes’, ‘long-term care facilities’, or ‘care homes’, and in some cases ‘community nursing units’. In the context of this project residential long-term care refers to settings registered with HIQA as designated centres for older people and will be referred to as ‘settings’ throughout this document.