Maćkowiak Maria, Senczyszyn Adrianna, Lion Katarzyna, Trypka Elżbieta, Małecka Monika, Ciułkowicz Marta, Mazurek Justyna, Świderska Roksana, Giebel Clarissa, Gabbay Mark, Rymaszewska Joanna, Szcześniak Dorota
Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland.
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Dec 3;9(12):1677. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9121677.
Older people with dementia are particularly at risk of COVID-19; however, relatively little is known about the indirect impact of the pandemic on the lives of those living with, and/or caring for someone with, dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of people with dementia and informal carers during the closure of available social and medical services in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with people with dementia ( = 5) and informal carers ( = 21) was performed between June and August 2020 after the first wave of COVID-19 in Poland. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) care re-organization; (2) psychological responses; (3) emerging needs. The factor underlying all these elements was reliance on other people. Social support and engagement are vital to the ongoing health and well-being of people living with dementia and their informal carers. Services need to be strengthened to provide ongoing provision to those living with dementia to reach pre-pandemic levels, if not better. Within the post-pandemic environment, people with dementia and their informal carers need reassurance that they can rely on external institutional and social support able to meet their needs.
患有痴呆症的老年人尤其容易感染新冠病毒；然而，对于这一疫情对痴呆症患者及其护理者生活的间接影响，我们所知相对较少。本研究的目的是调查在新冠疫情期间波兰社会和医疗服务关闭期间，痴呆症患者和非正式护理者的经历。2020年6月至8月，在波兰第一波新冠疫情过后，对5名痴呆症患者和21名非正式护理者进行了半结构化访谈，并进行了定性主题分析。确定了三个总体主题：（1）护理重新组织；（2）心理反应；（3）新出现的需求。所有这些因素的背后是对他人的依赖。社会支持和参与对于痴呆症患者及其非正式护理者的持续健康和福祉至关重要。需要加强服务，为痴呆症患者提供持续的服务，使其达到甚至超过疫情前的水平。在疫情后的环境中，痴呆症患者及其非正式护理者需要得到保证，即他们可以依靠外部机构和社会支持来满足他们的需求。
