Exploration of the Experience of Care Home Managers of COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Implementation and Uptake by Residents and Staff in Care Homes in Northern Ireland

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disproportionately affected people living and working in care homes. This study aimed to explore the experience of care home managers on the implementation and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination programme by residents and staff in care homes in Northern Ireland. An exploratory mixed methods approach was used, i.e., semi structured interviews to design the cross-sectional survey and content analysis of statements using open ended questions. Care home managers were approached and sixty-seven valid quantitative and forty-nine descriptive responses were analysed. The study identified eight themes which described factors that motivated residents (family visits and relationship with managers and staff), and staff vaccine uptake (return to normal life at work and trust in care home managers). The identified themes also confirmed that vaccine uptake is negatively influenced by perceived side effects. The findings indicated that social media can promote or decelerate the uptake of vaccine despite the accessibility to a successful vaccination programme. The study highlights the important role of managers in handling the challenges through building trust and establishing relationships with staff and residents. The findings identified challenges to the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine by staff and residents that can inform the implementation of future vaccination programmes.