Dear Colleagues,

A key problem for residents of nursing homes, their families, and the health personnel caring for them is how to prevent respiratory infections in elderly persons who are usually frail, have multiple morbidities, and have decreased immune competence. They are frequently exposed to other residents and staff for long periods in a room usually shared with other residents. They also receive care such as toileting, bathing, and feeding from multiple healthcare staff, and spend time in common areas such as dining rooms and lounges. The same carers may have contact with many residents daily, helping them mobilize, dress, ambulate, and transfer to other rooms. Some workers work in several nursing homes.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to ascertain the state of the art in preventing respiratory infections in seniors in nursing homes. We envision articles devoted to four areas:

Section 1: The patients

1. The health status, multimorbidities, life expectancies, and causes of death of nursing home residents.
2. The epidemiology of respiratory infections in nursing homes.
3. Randomized trials of social distancing, handwashing, and mask-wearing by patients and staff to reduce the incidence of respiratory infections in nursing homes (Authors: Roger E. Thomas and Donna Wilson)

Section 2: Nursing care

1. Systematic reviews of nursing care interventions in nursing homes to reduce infections (excluding social distancing, handwashing, and mask-wearing).
2. The experiences of nurses and nursing assistants caring for patients in nursing homes during respiratory infection seasons and lessons learned.
3. Costs and problems in implementing strategies and changes in nursing care to reduce respiratory infections in nursing homes.
4. Influenza vaccination rates of patients and staff in nursing homes and interventions to increase rates (Author: Roger E. Thomas)

Section 3: Nursing Homes: Updating nursing homes to reduce the incidence of infections.

1. Architectural solutions to reduce respiratory infections (a university school of architecture or an architectural firm will be invited to write this article)
2. Changing air flows in nursing homes to reduce the incidence of respiratory infections (a designer and manufacturer of airflow systems will be invited to write this article).
3. Comparison of experiences of respiratory infection epidemics in nursing homes and cruise ships (the situations are similar with large numbers of persons confined for long periods) (authors Roger E. Thomas and Donna Wilson)

Section 4. Patient and carer experiences

1. Patient and family experiences of respiratory infections in nursing homes.

Prof. Dr. Donna Wilson
Prof. Dr. Roger E. Thomas
Guest Editors

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• Nursing homes
• respiratory infections
• influenza vaccination rates of patients and staff
• handwashing social distancing and mask-wearing interventions
• nursing strategies to reduce respiratory infections
• redesign of nursing homes to reduce respiratory infections
• patient and carer experiences of respiratory infections in nursing homes