Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA, USA.
School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Mar;23(3):428-433.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.11.026. Epub 2021 Dec 17.
The COVID-19 pandemic created unique stressors for caregivers of persons with dementia living in long-term care (LTC) facilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the challenges associated with caring for a relative with dementia in LTC during the pandemic, as well as resources, strategies, and practices caregivers found helpful in coping with COVID-19.
This study was conducted within the context of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention to support caregivers. Open-ended survey responses (n = 125) and semistructured interviews with a subset of the sample (n = 20) collected between June 2020 and June 2021 explored caregivers' experiences during COVID-19.
Participants included 125 family caregivers of persons with dementia living in residential LTC.
Thematic analysis was used to identify themes capturing caregivers' experiences.
In addition to concerns about COVID-19 infection, participants reported key challenges such as the difficulty of maintaining contact with relatives because of visiting restrictions, lack of information about relatives' health and well-being, worries about overburdened LTC staff, impossibility of returning relatives home from the LTC facility, and fears about relatives dying alone. Participants also identified resources, strategies, and practices that they perceived as helpful, including effective infection prevention within the LTC facility, good communication with LTC staff, and creative strategies for connecting with their relatives.
This qualitative analysis informs recommendations for practice within LTC facilities, as well as supports that may help caregivers manage stressful situations in the context of COVID-19. Vaccination and testing protocols should be implemented to maximize family caregivers' opportunities for in-person contact with relatives in LTC, as alternative visiting modalities were often unsatisfactory or unfeasible. Informing caregivers regularly about individual residents' needs and status is crucial. Supports for bereaved caregivers should address complicated grief and feelings of loss.
COVID-19 大流行给居住在长期护理 (LTC) 机构的痴呆症患者的护理人员带来了独特的压力源。本定性研究的目的是确定在大流行期间在 LTC 中照顾痴呆症亲属所面临的挑战，以及护理人员在应对 COVID-19 时发现有用的资源、策略和做法。
本研究是在一项支持护理人员的心理社会干预措施的正在进行的随机对照试验的背景下进行的。2020 年 6 月至 2021 年 6 月期间，通过开放式调查回复（n=125）和对样本的一部分（n=20）进行半结构化访谈，探讨了护理人员在 COVID-19 期间的经历。
参与者包括 125 名居住在住宅 LTC 中的痴呆症患者的家庭护理人员。
使用主题分析来确定捕捉护理人员经历的主题。
除了对 COVID-19 感染的担忧外，参与者还报告了一些主要挑战，例如由于探视限制难以与亲属保持联系、缺乏亲属健康和幸福方面的信息、对 LTC 工作人员负担过重的担忧、无法将亲属从 LTC 机构送回家、以及担心亲属孤独地死去。参与者还确定了他们认为有帮助的资源、策略和做法，包括在 LTC 机构内有效预防感染、与 LTC 工作人员良好沟通以及与亲属建立联系的创造性策略。
这项定性分析为 LTC 机构内的实践提供了建议，并为护理人员在 COVID-19 背景下管理紧张局势提供了支持。应实施疫苗接种和检测方案，以最大限度地增加家庭护理人员与 LTC 机构中亲属的面对面接触机会，因为替代探视方式往往不尽如人意或不可行。定期向护理人员通报个别居民的需求和状况至关重要。为丧亲的护理人员提供的支持应解决复杂的悲伤和失落感。
