Family members' concerns about relatives in long‐term care facilities: Acceptance of visiting restriction policy amid the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The policy enforcing visiting restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic may cause feelings of social isolation among residents in long-term care facilities. This study aimed to explore family members' concerns for their relatives during the lockdown period, assess their level of acceptance of the visiting restriction policy and determine the associated factors. Methods: From the 156 family members interviewed, demographic data, satisfaction with overall care quality, worry and concerns for their relatives, acceptance of the visiting restriction and arrangement for the residents if cluster infections occur in the facility were recorded. Results: Among the members interviewed, 83 (53.2%) were men; mean age of members was 56.3 AE 9.8; most were offspring of residents in the facility (n = 121, 77.6%), most visited the residents at least once a week (n = 113, 72.4%) before the lockdown. The most common concerns of the family members for their relatives were psychological stress (38.5%), followed by nursing care (26.9%) and daily activity (21.1%). Nearly 84.6% of those interviewed accepted the visiting restriction policy, and a higher satisfaction rating independently associated with acceptance of the visiting restriction policy (odds ratio 2.15). Conclusions: During the lockdown period, staff members should provide more psychological information about residents to their family members. Higher satisfaction rating was found to be independent of the acceptance of the visiting restriction policy. Therefore, good quality of care of the facility wins the trust of family members, and this might mitigate the tension between the family members and staff during a major crisis.

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Unpaid Carers of Adults with Long-Term Care Needs and Measures to Address these Impacts: A Rapid Review of Evidence up to November 2020

“…Women, younger carers, people with existing financial difficulties, and Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) carers have been found to be at greater risk of negative outcomes (e.g., financial difficulties, health, loneliness) (Bennett, Zhang, & Yeandle, 2020a, 2020b, 2020cBlueCross BlueShield 2020;Cagnin et al, 2020;Carers UK, 2020a; Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, 2020). Carers of people living in residential care settings have found it difficult to remain in contact with their relatives, have been worried about their health status and the quality of care they receive, and have feared negative long-term implications due to the prolonged social isolation experienced by their relatives (Baxter, 2020;Carers UK, 2020b;Hosking, Maccora, & McCallum, 2020;USA-gainstAlzheimer's, 2020;Yeh et al, 2020).…”

“Be Their Advocate”: Families’ Experience with a Relative in LTC during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Foremost, human resources issues had a profound impact on the lack of communication between the LTCFs and family members. Communication challenges during COVID-19 were especially prominent as families sought information about their relative (Leaman & Azios, 2021;Ting-Chun et al, 2020;Tupper et al, 2020). Interestingly, McArthur et al (2021) reported that quick deployment of communication strategies in LTCFs in New Brunswick resulted in residents being protected from the mental health consequences of lockdown.…”

“…Years of theorizing and study about aging and family life relationships (Silverstein & Giarrusso, 2010), family as care partners (Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, 2020; Government of the United Kingdom, 2021; Tupper et al, 2020), person-centred care (Bouchoucha & Bloomer, 2021; Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, 2020), the role of families in LTCFs given the shortage of care providers (Gwyther, 2001;Ting-Chun et al, 2020) seem to have completely been ignored in the face of this pandemic. Empirical research confirms the need to consider family caregivers as extended clients of LTCFs (Gwyther, 2001) given the emotional burden that usually accompanies having a family member in a LTCF (Strang, Koop, Dupuis-Blanchard, Nordstrom, & Thompson, 2006;Ting-Chun et al, 2020). Families often feel isolated (Gwyther, 2001) while worrying about the health and well-being of their relative (Strang et al, 2006).…”

Everyday life in a Swedish nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study with persons 85 to 100 years

“…Although not being a ban, which is not supported by Swedish law, the visitor restrictions initiated a public debate on the risk of social isolation and the negative consequences that might have, 10 and they were lifted in October 2020 based on the risk of negative consequences of isolation instigated by lengthy visitor restrictions. 11 So far, research has mainly focused on family members’ experiences of the restrictions, 12 13 and the impact they may have on people living in nursing homes is poorly understood, with no primary data on their experiences.…”