The COVID-19 pandemic public health strategy to reduce community transmission in Australia included unprecedented use of quarantine facilities to separate those at risk and those with the infection from the rest of the community. No standardized approach to quarantine facilities existed resulting in different models of care emerging across the country. The Northern Territory Howard Springs Quarantine Facility was a large-scale quarantine and isolation operation which hosted over 33,000 domestic and international arrivals with zero COVID-19 transmission recorded from residents to staff for the duration of its operation. The facility was deemed the gold standard model of care and the aim of this project was to distill the important elements of that model of care into an evidence-based tool kit for future use as an open access, online resource. The toolkit was a result of intense data and information analysis including resident, staff and leadership surveys, policies and procedures and results of audits of the facility during its operation.

This project to develop an online, open access evidence-based toolkit forms part of the Translational Research to Improve Health Outcomes project funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund. The methodology included mixed methods with an underpinning grounded theory approach to analyze de-identified audit data and information from the quarantine and isolation facility operational period. Staff and leadership team surveys were conducted to explore experiences of site functions and infrastructure. A (non-experimental) descriptive design allowed collation and statistical analysis of information recognizing the variables in the data and information.

The toolbox includes a resident centered quarantine care model, infection, prevention and control strategies for health professionals and non-health staff, quarantine communication model and presentation of core challenges (rapid recruitment, environmental factors, workforce resilience).

The resulting online web resource presents evidence-based core strategies and resources for implementation in future pandemics.