Exploring the facilitation of meaningful leisure activities in designated centres for older persons (nursing homes) in Ireland: A protocol for content documentary analysis of HIQA inspection reports

Background: Nursing homes (NHs) in Ireland are regulated by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Regulations for nursing homes under the Health Act 2007 (as amended) states that registered providers must provide residents with facilities for occupation and recreation, and opportunities to participate in activities in accordance with their interests and capacities ( Government of Ireland, 2013 - S.I. No. 415/2013 ). Despite the proven benefits of engagement in meaningful activities, when an older person enters a NH, they often lose autonomy in occupational roles, and engagement in meaningful activities ( Causey-Upton, 2015 ). In 2019, HIQA highlighted that there were relatively high levels of non-compliance in the area of residents’ rights ( HIQA, 2020 ). Aim: Given the central role of leisure activities to older adults’ health and well-being, this study aims to understand how NH residents in Ireland were afforded opportunities for meaningful engagement in activities prior to and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (2019 – 2021). This will be conducted through analysing a sample of publicly available HIQA inspection reports for NHs from 2019 – 2021. Methods: A content documentary analysis will be conducted using a qualitative deductive approach. Purposive sampling will be used to select 21 nursing home reports for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The sample will include nursing homes reported to be non-compliant, substantially compliant and compliant in the regulation of residents’ rights. An inspection report for each of these NHs (n=21) for the year 2019, 2020 and 2021 will create a sample of 63 reports for analysis. This sample will capture three time points for the 21 NHs pre-pandemic and throughout the pandemic.