The covid-19 pandemic and care homes for older people in Europe - deaths, damage and violations of human rights

Abstract

Throughout Europe the most damaging consequences of the coronavirus have fallen disproportionately on older people who live in care homes. This study involves the analysis of secondary data sources relating to deaths, and related harms, in European care homes from seven countries between March and December 2020. The findings are reviewed using the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights to identify examples of human rights violations -namely the right to life, liberty and security, respect for private and family life, and prohibition of torture, and general prohibition of discrimination. A significant contributing factor to the scale and nature of deaths and harms is the abject disregard of older people's human rights. Based on the findings, the authors, a group of social work academics, call for an urgent re-examination of the role of social work in relationship to care homes and the importance of re-engaging with human rights issues for care home residents.

The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The high mortality rate of the region of the Americas reflects the failures of this region to take concrete measures to suppress the epidemic, and high vulnerability to deaths from COVID-19 due to structural characteristics. Such characteristics include older populations; 163 , 164 , 165 a high prevalence of comorbidities (eg, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease) within the population; 166 , 167 the high proportion of the population living in congregate settings such as care homes, 168 , 169 prisons, 170 worker hostels, and homeless centres; 171 and social determinants of health including racial and ethnic disparities, income inequalities, and inequitable access to high-quality health care. 172 , 173 Another factor was the increase in anti-vaccine propaganda in the Americas that caused tens of millions of people to refuse vaccines, and hundreds of thousands to needlessly lose their lives.…”

COVID-19 related visiting ban in nursing homes as a source of concern for residents’ family members: a cross sectional study

“…Fewer than one percent of Finnish citizens reside in these homes, yet 44 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths occurred in them during the first months of the pandemic [ 7 ]. This high mortality rate mirrors the situation on the international level [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Guest editorial

“…For example, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted older people in the community who faced increased social isolation and reductions in care and support in their own homes due to government restrictions on interpersonal contact (Pentaris et al , 2020). It also impacted older people within institutions where violations to their human rights, including rights to life, liberty, private and family life as well as prohibition of torture and discrimination, were noted by Anand et al (2022). It was also widely reported that abuse and neglect increased during the pandemic (Yunus et al , 2021).…”