Impact of COVID-19 on the health and psychosocial status of vulnerable older adults: study protocol for an observational study

Cheung, Gary; Rivera-Rodriguez, Claudia; Martínez-Ruiz, Adrián; Ma’u, Etuini; Ryan, Brigid; Burholt, Vanessa; Bissielo, Ange; Meehan, Brigette

doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09900-1

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…To prevent these negative consequences, the GPs in our study recommended that social contact be maintained for patients receiving palliative care. The long-term effects of contact restriction and isolation on vulnerable groups must be investigated in future studies [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences, challenges and perspectives for ensuring end-of-life patient care: A national online survey with general practitioners in Germany

et al. 2021

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Background The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is posing major challenges for health care systems. In Germany, one such challenge has been that adequate palliative care for the severely ill and dying (with and without COVID-19), as well as their loved ones, has not been available at all times and in all settings., the pandemic has underlined the significance of the contribution of general practitioners (GPs) to the care of severely ill and dying patients. Objectives To describe GPs’ experiences, challenges and perspectives with respect to end-of-life care during the first peak of the pandemic (spring 2020) in Germany. Materials and methods In November and December 2020, a link to an Unipark online survey was sent to GPs registered on nationwide distribution lists. Results In total, 410 GPs responded; 61.5% indicated that the quality of their patients’ end-of-life care was maintained throughout the pandemic, 36.8% reported a decrease in quality compared to pre-pandemic times. Of the GPs who made home visits to severely ill and dying patients, 61.4% reported a stable number of visits, 28.5% reported fewer visits. 62.7% of the GPs reported increased telephone contact and reduced personal contact with patients; 36.1% offered video consultations in lieu of face-to-face contact. The GPs reported that relatives were restricted (48.5%) or prohibited from visiting (33.4%) patients in nursing homes. They observed a fear of loneliness among patients in nursing homes (91.9%), private homes (87.3%) and hospitals (86.1%). Conclusions The present work provides insights into the pandemic management of GPs and supports the development of a national strategy for palliative care during a pandemic. To effectively address end-of-life care, GPs and palliative care specialists should be involved in COVID-19 task forces on micro, meso and macro levels of health care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences, challenges and perspectives for ensuring end-of-life patient care: A national online survey with general practitioners in Germany

et al. 2021

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“…Director/manager interviews also confirmed the increased isolation among clients. Published studies report extensively on the worsening isolation among elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic [39,42,43] and specifically how clients with dementia or other cognitive impairments may be affected [44][45][46][47]. Aides may be the only people with whom clients interact regularly.…”

Section: Infection Prevention and Control Enabling The Continuity Of Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It changed everything”: The Safe Home Care qualitative study of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on home care aides, clients, and managers

Markkanen

Brouillette

Quinn

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Home care (HC) services are crucial to the health and social wellbeing of older adults, people with disabilities, and the chronically ill. Although the HC sector is growing rapidly in the USA, there is high job turnover among the HC aide workforce. HC provides an important alternative to facility-based care, yet it has often been overlooked within the larger health care system: most recently, in COVID-19 pandemic planning. The objective of the study was to characterize qualitatively the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on three key HC stakeholders: clients, aides, and agency managers. Methods The study included 37 phone interviews conducted during April – November 2020: HC clients (n = 9), aides (n = 16), and agency managers (n = 12). All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts followed the grounded theory approach. The interview transcriptions were coded line-by-line into hierarchical themes with NVivo 12 software which allowed weighting of themes based on the number of interviews where they were coded. Results Fear of infection and transmission among HC clients and aides were strong themes. Infection prevention and control became the top priority guiding day-to-day business operations at agencies; sourcing adequate personal protective equipment for staff was the most urgent task. HC aides expressed concerns for their clients who showed signs of depression, due to increased isolation during the pandemic. The disappearance of comforting touch – resulting from physical distancing practices – altered the expression of compassion in the HC aide-client care relationship. Conclusions The findings suggest that the pandemic has further increased psychosocial job demands of HC aides. Increased isolation of clients may be contributing to a wider public health problem of elder loneliness and depression. To support the HC stakeholders during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, for future pandemic planning or other health emergencies, it is important to improve HC aide job retention. This action could also ease the serious care services shortage among the growing population of older adults.

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“…The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) global pandemic and subsequent public health measures which limited in-person social contact have impacted social and economic life with increasing concerns about physical and mental health [1][2][3]. Personal connections have been severely restricted or stopped completely, as have many connections with community and national services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

O’Sullivan

Burns

Leavey

et al. 2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

142

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The COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent public health social measures have challenged our social and economic life, with increasing concerns around potentially rising levels of social isolation and loneliness. This paper is based on cross-sectional online survey data (available in 10 languages, from 2 June to 16 November 2020) with 20,398 respondents from 101 different countries. It aims to help increase our understanding of the global risk factors that are associated with social isolation and loneliness, irrespective of culture or country, to support evidence-based policy, services and public health interventions. We found the prevalence of severe loneliness was 21% during COVID-19 with 6% retrospectively reporting severe loneliness prior to the pandemic. A fifth were defined as isolated based on their usual connections, with 13% reporting a substantial increase in isolation during COVID-19. Personal finances and mental health were overarching and consistently cross-cutting predictors of loneliness and social isolation, both before and during the pandemic. With the likelihood of future waves of COVID-19 and related restrictions, it must be a public health priority to address the root causes of loneliness and social isolation and, in particular, address the needs of specific groups such as carers or those living alone.

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Impact of COVID-19 on the health and psychosocial status of vulnerable older adults: study protocol for an observational study

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Experiences, challenges and perspectives for ensuring end-of-life patient care: A national online survey with general practitioners in Germany

Experiences, challenges and perspectives for ensuring end-of-life patient care: A national online survey with general practitioners in Germany

“It changed everything”: The Safe Home Care qualitative study of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on home care aides, clients, and managers

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

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