A Web-Based COVID-19 Tool for Testing Residents in Retirement Homes: Development Study

Area of Science:

• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Public health interventions
• Operations research

Background:

• COVID-19 significantly impacted long-term care facilities, with older residents facing higher mortality risks.
• Regular resident testing is crucial for proactive infection detection in retirement homes (RHs).
• Balancing staff time between testing and essential care presents a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a web application, the Retirement Home Testing Optimizer, to aid RH managers in creating effective resident testing schedules.
• To optimize testing strategies by grouping residents and testing no more than one group daily.

Main Methods:

• Developed a web application incorporating resident/staff numbers, contact rates, testing time, and constraints on test intervals and group sizes.
• Utilized mixed integer nonlinear programming to balance staff workload and minimize infection detection time.
• Employed a fast, efficient local search method leveraging problem symmetries for optimal solutions.

Main Results:

• The application computes optimal trade-off testing strategies, suggesting resident groupings and schedules tailored to facility constraints.
• The tool is accessible online, open-source, and available in English and German with comprehensive guidelines.
• Launched in July 2022, the application is currently undergoing testing in German retirement homes.

Conclusions:

• Testing strategies are customized for each RH, aligning with manager-defined goals.
• The model focuses on expected infection risks and does not guarantee prevention of worst-case scenarios.
• The application provides a practical approach to managing testing logistics in long-term care settings.