Just visiting: A qualitative study of Australian allied health professionals′ experiences working in residential aged care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: Internationally, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted health professionals ' experiences of delivering effective care. The experiences of health professionals are important: poor experience has been associated with poorer patient outcomes and high staff turnover. This study aimed to narratively explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the experience of delivering allied health (AH) care in Australian residential aged care (RAC). Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted in February-May 2022 with AH professionals who had experience working in RAC during the pandemic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed in NVivo 20. Twenty-five per cent of interview transcripts were independently analysed by three researchers to create a coding structure. Results: Three themes were identified from interviews with 15 AH professionals to describe experiences delivering care pre-COVID- 19, during COVID-19, and perceptions of care delivery in future. Prepandemic AH in RAC was believed to be under-resourced, delivering low-quality and reactive care. During the pandemic, pauses in, and the slow resumption of, AH services exacerbated professionals ' feelings of being undervalued in resident care and in the workforce. Participants were optimistic about the impact AH could have in RAC in future if practice was embedded, multidisciplinary and funded appropriately. Conclusions: AH professionals ' experiences of delivering care in RAC are often poor, regardless of the pandemic. Further research on multidisciplinary practice and health professional experience in RAC is needed.