“I Feel All Alone Out Here”

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed social life. This secondary qualitative analysis aimed to better understand the impact of the pandemic on bereaved hospice family caregivers' experiences of social connection and isolation in a time of social distancing and general anxiety. Six caregivers in 3 states recorded audio diaries (N = 59) between March 13 and May 15, 2020. Caregivers were, on average, 56.80 years old (SD, 14.22; range, 32-67 years old) and consisted of spouses (n = 2), adult children (n = 3), and a sibling (n = 1). Using NVIVO 12, caregiver diaries were coded for (1) “social connection” (n = 23), defined as being able to access or seeking informal or formal social support networks; (2) “isolation” (n = 17), defined as being unable or reluctant to access informal or formal social support networks, or feeling alone; and (3) “bereavement processes” (n = 147), informed by the dual process model of bereavement (restoration and loss-oriented stressors). Content analysis revealed that caregivers were able to connect with others despite physical distancing expectations, expressed loneliness and grief while in isolation, and described moving on in the face of uncertainty. Findings provide insight into how caregivers experienced bereavement during the initial period of the pandemic and highlight implications for hospice bereavement services.

Family grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

“…All the articles explained the process and rigor of data analysis, as well as clearly presenting the results and indicating contributions to the area of study. Considerations regarding research ethics were reported in all articles, however, two studies 36,37 did not report the approval number of the respective Research Ethics Committees.…”

“…It is known that, from the total of bereaved individuals interviewed, at least 346 people lost family members due to COVID-19 and ten individuals, to other causes (illness = 4, accident = 2, normal death = 2, cardiac arrest = 1, and suicide = 1). The causes of death of the family members of the remaining 51 bereaved were not specified in four articles 35,37,41,42 . Regarding place of death, 87 took place in hospitals, 41 in nursing homes, 18 in intensive care units, 12 at home, nine in the coronavirus ward, four in general ward, two in a hospice, one at the location of accident, one in a psychiatric hospital, one in a sheltered house and one in a government isolation facility.…”

“…Regarding place of death, 87 took place in hospitals, 41 in nursing homes, 18 in intensive care units, 12 at home, nine in the coronavirus ward, four in general ward, two in a hospice, one at the location of accident, one in a psychiatric hospital, one in a sheltered house and one in a government isolation facility. The location of the other deaths was not specified in six articles 37,38,41,42,46,47 .…”

“…The bereaved family members from the studies reported that, since the beginning of the pandemic, they had concerns about other healthy relatives, relatives already hospitalized due to other health conditions, and also older relatives, especially those residing in nursing homes. There is a constant concern about viral contamination, even in studies in which deaths were not detailed or did not occur due to COVID-19 35,37,41,42 .…”

Experiences and perceptions of patients and their caregivers on visitor guidelines for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Protocol for a research study

“…The restrictive health and safety measures conditioned the way patients were cared for, as well as their social and family lives [7]. There is evidence that the health of the most vulnerable and fragile people from a biopsychosocial approach worsened due to isolation and con nement [8][9][10][11]. This situation caused an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, demands related to chronicity, and a delay in urgent surgical interventions among other causes, leading to an increase in morbidity and mortality [12][13][14][15].…”