Schuster Amy M, Cotten Shelia R
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States.
JMIR Aging. 2022 Jan 12;5(1):e32442. doi: 10.2196/32442.
The prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States led to mandated lockdowns for long-term care (LTC) facilities, resulting in loss of in-person contact with social ties for LTC residents. Though information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be used by LTC residents to support their socioemotional needs, residents must have access to ICTs to use them.
This study explored ICT access and use in LTC facilities and how LTC facilities adapted to try to enhance social connections for their residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
LTC administrators in South Carolina (United States) were invited to complete a web-based survey exploring ICT access and use in LTC facilities and whether access and use changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LTC administrators (N=70, 12 nursing homes [NHs], and 58 assisted living facilities [ALFs]) completed the web-based survey. Since March 2020, a total of 53% (37/70) of the LTC facilities have purchased ICTs for residents' use. ICTs have mainly been used for videoconferencing with family members (31/36, 86%), friends (25/36, 69%), and health care providers (26/36, 72%). NHs were 10.23 times more likely to purchase ICTs for residents' use during the COVID-19 pandemic than ALFs (odds ratio 11.23, 95% CI 1.12-113.02; P=.04). Benefits of ICT use included residents feeling connected to their family members, friends, and other residents. Barriers to ICT use included staff not having time to assist residents with using the technology, nonfunctional technology, and residents who do not want to share technology.
Our results suggest that over half of the LTC facilities in this study were able to acquire ICTs for their residents to use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional research is needed to explore how residents adapted to using the ICTs and whether LTC facilities developed and adopted technology integration plans, which could help them be prepared for future situations that may affect LTC residents' engagement and communication opportunities, such as another pandemic.
美国新冠肺炎的流行导致长期护理（LTC）机构被强制封锁，长期护理机构的居民因此失去了与社会关系的面对面接触。尽管长期护理机构的居民可以使用信息通信技术（ICT）来满足他们的社会情感需求，但居民必须能够使用这些技术。
本研究探讨了长期护理机构中信息通信技术的获取和使用情况，以及长期护理机构在新冠肺炎疫情期间如何进行调整以努力加强居民的社会联系。
邀请了美国南卡罗来纳州的长期护理机构管理人员完成一项基于网络的调查，该调查探讨了长期护理机构中信息通信技术的获取和使用情况，以及信息通信技术的获取和使用是否因新冠肺炎疫情而发生变化。
长期护理机构管理人员（N = 70，12家养老院[NHs]和58家辅助生活设施[ALFs]）完成了基于网络的调查。自2020年3月以来，共有53%（37/70）的长期护理机构为居民购买了信息通信技术设备以供使用。信息通信技术主要用于与家庭成员（31/36，86%）、朋友（25/36，69%）和医疗保健提供者（26/36，72%）进行视频会议。在新冠肺炎疫情期间，养老院为居民购买信息通信技术设备以供使用的可能性是辅助生活设施的10.23倍（优势比11.23，95%置信区间1.12 - 113.02；P = 0.04）。使用信息通信技术的好处包括居民感觉与家人、朋友和其他居民有联系。使用信息通信技术的障碍包括工作人员没有时间协助居民使用技术、技术无法正常使用以及居民不想分享技术。
我们的研究结果表明，本研究中超过一半的长期护理机构能够在新冠肺炎疫情期间为居民获取信息通信技术设备以供使用。需要进一步研究以探讨居民如何适应使用信息通信技术，以及长期护理机构是否制定并采用了技术整合计划，这有助于它们为未来可能影响长期护理机构居民参与度和沟通机会的情况做好准备，例如另一场疫情。
