Organizational response of elderly and homecare sector in Ticino facing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic outbreak: a case study on Spitex and nursing homes

Abstract

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is posing colossal pressure on all health systems worldwide. Given the epidemiological features of the virus, the authors aimed at analyzing how the most vulnerable and highly fragmented sector in Ticino reacted from an organizational point of view to a large-scale public health emergency. The present in-depth analysis shed light on two critical aspects: the tardive prioritization of specific strategies aimed at minimizing the risk of infections and, more generally, the lack of coordination between the stakeholders involved. During the first phase of the pandemic outbreak, the priority of the competent authorities was mainly focused to determine the infected people and major efforts were established in strengthening hospital intensive care units. This, however, has placed the elderly and homecare sector in a hazardous position, posing significant inter-and intra-organizational challenges in responding effectively to the unprecedented health emergency.