COVID-19-related social support service closures and mental well-being in older adults and those affected by dementia: a UK longitudinal survey

Giebel, Clarissa; Pulford, Daniel; Cooper, Claudia; Lord, Kathryn; Shenton, Justine; Cannon, Jacqueline; Shaw, Lisa; Tetlow, Hilary; Limbert, Stan; Callaghan, Steve; Whittington, Rosie; Rogers, Carol; Komuravelli, Aravind; Rajagopal, Manoj; Eley, Ruth; Downs, Murna; Reilly, Siobhán; Ward, Kym; Gaughan, Anna; Butchard, Sarah; Beresford, Jules; Watkins, Caroline L; Bennett, Kate; Gabbay, Mark

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045889

Cited by 73 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Hence, it seems that the first COVID-19 phase in spring 2020 can best be characterized by an increase in anxiety for both caregivers and care recipients. However, there is concern that indications of depression will also further increase the longer epidemiological control measures like stay-at-home orders persist ( 71 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Caregiving and Care Receiving Across Europe During the First Phase of the Pandemic

Bergmann

Wagner

2021

Front. Public Health

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Purpose: We analyzed the effects of COVID-19 as well as its accompanying epidemiological control measures on health-related outcomes (physical and mental health) and unmet care needs of both caregivers and care recipients across Europe and Israel by taking into account country differences.Methods: We applied comparisons of adjusted predictions, controlling for a large set of relevant respondent characteristics, to investigate changes in the physical and mental health of caregivers and care recipients due to COVID-19. Furthermore, multilevel regression models were used to analyze the effect of individual and contextual indicators on the probability of reporting difficulties in receiving care. For the analyses, we used data from 26 countries with 51,983 respondents over 50 years based on the eighth wave of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which had to be suspended in March 2020, and the SHARE Corona Survey fielded from June to August 2020.Results: During the first phase of the pandemic in spring/summer 2020, the frequency of providing personal care to parents increased in almost all European countries, while care to children, in turn, decreased. Parental caregivers who increased the frequency of providing personal care reported significantly more mental health strains, that is, feeling sad/depressed and anxious/nervous more often since the outbreak of the pandemic. With respect to receiving care, about one out of five care recipients had difficulty in obtaining adequate care from outside the household during the pandemic. The perception of unmet care needs was significantly associated with country differences regarding the duration of the stay-at-home orders. In contrast, the number of confirmed deaths did not have a significant effect on perceiving difficulties related to receiving care.Conclusions: Our findings show the extent of the burden to which caregivers and care recipients were exposed with respect to the unintended consequences of COVID-19-related epidemiological control measures. There is a great need within this population for interventions, which effectively reduce the burden as well as the symptoms of anxiety or depression for caregivers as well as care recipients. This should be recognized by (health) policymakers and social organizations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Caregiving and Care Receiving Across Europe During the First Phase of the Pandemic

Bergmann

Wagner

2021

Front. Public Health

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“…Studies that have measured the psychological impact of pandemic in this population have found increased levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness, 31 which were particularly related to a lack of understanding and knowledge about the pandemic and needs for lockdown. A national longitudinal survey of support service usage and mental well-being in persons living with dementia and their families 32 found a significant drop in usage shortly after lockdown was enacted. This is an experience shared by the participants in this study, who expressed many difficulties, fears and anxieties in accessing services during this time.…”

Section: Covid-19 and Dementiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with dementia and carers from black and minority ethnic groups

et al. 2021

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IntroductionDespite community efforts to support and enable older and vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with dementia and their family carers are still finding it difficult to adjust their daily living in light of the disruption that the pandemic has caused. There may be needs specific to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations in these circumstances that remain thus far unexplored.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and their family carers of BAME backgrounds, in relation to their experiences of community dementia care and the impact on their daily lives.Design15 participants (persons with dementia and carers) were recruited for semistructured qualitative interviews. Respondents were of South Asian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds. We used thematic analysis to analyse our data from a constructivist perspective, which emphasises the importance of multiple perspectives, contexts and values.ResultsThere were a number of ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted BAME persons with dementia and carers with regard to their experiences of dementia community care and the impact on their everyday lives. In particular we identified eight key themes, with subthemes: fear and anxiety, food and eating (encompassing food shopping and eating patterns), isolation and identity, community and social relationships, adapting to COVID-19, social isolation and support structures, and medical interactions. Fear and anxiety formed an overarching theme that encompassed all others.DiscussionThis paper covers unique and underexplored topics in a COVID-19-vulnerable group. There is limited work with these groups in the UK and this is especially true in COVID-19. The results showed that such impacts were far-reaching and affected not only day-to-day concerns, but also care decisions with long-ranging consequences, and existential interests around fear, faith, death and identity.

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“…The situation has also worsened for those with pre-existing mental health problems [27, 42, 7, 6, 51, 12] which has led to increased drinking [33]. People living with dementia have been affected due to reduced access to social support services [76, 77]. Up to 90% of children and young adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities reported a negative impact on their mental health, often due to a lack of access to specialist facilities, therapies and equipment [78].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult mental health in the UK: A rapid systematic review

Batteux

Taylor

Carter

2021

Preprint

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Background. There is evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of the UK population, but this needs synthesising to guide effective policy recommendations and ensure support is targeted to populations most at risk. We conducted a rapid systematic review of the evidence of the impact of COVID-19 and associated restrictions on the mental health of UK adults, including risk and protective factors. Method. A range of databases were searched to identify eligible studies. Studies were eligible if they reported primary quantitative or qualitative research on the mental health of UK adults between March 2020 and March 2021. Journal publications and pre-prints were included. Reviews, position papers, protocol papers and studies published in languages other than English were excluded. The study authors screened papers for eligibility and included 102 papers in the analysis. Results. The evidence from this review indicates that the mental health of UK adults has declined since the start of the pandemic, with different populations being unequally affected. Populations particularly affected are women, young adults, ethnic minorities, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, people with pre-existing conditions and people who have had COVID-19. Other risk factors include having to isolate and time spent watching pandemic related news. Protective factors include social contact and maintaining healthy behaviours, such as physical activity. Conclusions. Policy should aim to discourage risky behaviours while ensuring support is available for people to engage in protective behaviours. Interventions should be directed towards populations that have been most adversely affected. Addressing the decline in mental health across the UK population since the COVID-19 pandemic will require increasing mental health provision and ensuring equitable access to support.

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COVID-19-related social support service closures and mental well-being in older adults and those affected by dementia: a UK longitudinal survey

Cited by 73 publications

References 19 publications

The Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Caregiving and Care Receiving Across Europe During the First Phase of the Pandemic

The Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Caregiving and Care Receiving Across Europe During the First Phase of the Pandemic

Exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with dementia and carers from black and minority ethnic groups

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult mental health in the UK: A rapid systematic review

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