Shifting the Paradigm of Nursing Home Care for People with Dementia: The Italian Experience of Il Paese Ritrovato and the Impact of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Background: Il Paese Ritrovato is an Italian nursing home founded in 2018, it is based on the Alzheimer village model and admits people with mild-to-moderate dementia. Objective: Describe the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on people living at Il Paese Ritrovato through a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) regularly administered prior to and during the pandemic. Methods: We explored the effects of a person-centered approach. We assessed 64 subjects (enrolled and followed between June 2018 and December 2020), who underwent at least 18 months of observation prior to the pandemic. Each subject was evaluated using a CGA on admission time (T0) and at defined time-points: T6, T12, T18. One last CGA evaluation was performed during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (TCovid-19). Temporal trends during T0–T18, and differences between T18 and TCovid-19 were calculated. Results: The mean age was 82 years with a prevalence for females (77.0%) and Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis (60%). Psychiatric and behavioral disorders were the most common conditions (80%). We utilized a nonpharmacological approach aimed at promoting the residents’ overall wellbeing and observed satisfactory performance during the first 18 months. In comparison with the pre-pandemic period, TCovid-19 enlightened +11.7% use of antidepressants and a decline of Mini-Mental State Examination mean values (not statistically significant), while engagement in activities dropped. Conclusions: The pandemic may have disrupted the existing model of care, but at the same time, it confirmed that the Il Paese Ritrovato approach, which encompasses symptoms improvement and multicomponent support, is in fact beneficial.