Dying Alone during a Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is an unprecedented experience that has had profound impact and consequences for health care providers, visitation policies, and procedures. Hospitals and health care facilities were forced to implement changes to visitation policies, in an effort, to minimize transmission of the virus, which unfortunately had negative impact on patients' and family members' well-being as well as moral distress for the staff. Objectives: We present here a case illustration of the impacts of such a response to the pandemic situation at our institution, including challenges for uniformly implementing such a change along with suggestions to support patients during these difficult times. Conclusion: Health care facilities should make efforts to maintain balance between safety precautions and minimizing potential negative impacts on patients, families, and staff by implementing innovative measures to support ongoing communication and access to family support.

My Journey of Personal Transformation: An Autoethnographic Perspective on the Meaning I Ascribe to My Lived Experiences of Music and Imagery (MI) Training during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Capozzo (2020) argues that, even in a pandemic, it is not acceptable to have to die alone, and that fear and anxiety are heightened if one is alone while being sick, hospitalised, or dying. The negative impact of isolation on the patient, hospital staff, and family members was demonstrated by Ann-Yi et al (2021), who found that patients regarded the well-being of their loved ones as the second most important priority for their well-being. In a survey by Carson et al (2021) which focused on the impact of losing a loved one during the pandemic, findings indicated that posttraumatic stress increased dramatically, while post-traumatic growth was very low.…”