Family Communication in Long-Term Care During a Pandemic: Lessons for Enhancing Emotional Experiences

Abstract

Highlights What is the primary question addressed by this study? The primary purpose of the study was to investigate which methods of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with more positive and less negative emotional experiences and perceptions of resident experiences of family members and friends of older adults in long-term care facilities in the United States. What is the main finding of this study? Using the phone more frequently was associated with less negative emotional experiences for participants, and using email more frequently was associated with more positive perceived resident experiences. Having letters delivered more frequently was associated with more participant and perceived resident negative emotions. What is the meaning of the findings? Connecting with family members and friends in long-term care facilities, especially via phone, may contribute to better emotional experiences for family members, friends, and long-term care residents.

2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures

“…Data are beginning to emerge from studies documenting the experience for dementia caregivers during COVID‐19. For example, family caregivers who are able to engage in more direct phone and email contact with relatives in long‐term care residences indicated greater emotional well‐being for themselves and their relatives, whereas relying on residential care staff rather than family members to engage in communication resulted in lower perceived well‐being among family caregivers and their relatives 569 . Telephone interviews with family caregivers in rural Virginia following the governor's stay‐at‐home order found that those who were more concerned about the COVID‐19 pandemic and those who received less help from family and friends experienced greater feelings of emotional exhaustion and fatigue related to dementia care 570 …”

Psychosoziale Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf Pflegekräfte und Bewohner von Pflegeheimen sowie deren Angehörige – Ein systematisches Review

“…Insgesamt wurden 7224 Studienteilnehmende aus 14 Ländern berücksichtigt. Drei Studien schlossen Bewohner [ 3 , 12 , 28 ] und 4 Studien Angehörige ein [ 14 , 17 , 28 , 30 ], 10 Studien befragten Mitarbeitende [ 1 , 15 , 19 – 22 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 29 ]. Die Stichprobengröße reichte von 24 bis 1997 Teilnehmenden.…”

“…Die Auswirkungen der Maßnahmen auf das psychische Befinden von Angehörigen werden in 5 Studien thematisiert [ 14 , 17 , 20 , 29 , 30 ], wobei die Gruppe in 3 Studien direkt befragt wurde. Dabei zeigte sich ein verringertes psychisches und emotionales Wohlbefinden.…”

“…In einer Online-Befragung in den Niederlanden berichteten Angehörige und Freunde von Bewohnern darüber hinaus über Schuldgefühle sowie das Empfinden einer mangelnden Wertschätzung [ 30 ]. Eine Studie aus den USA zeigte, dass regelmäßige Telefonate eine emotional zufriedenstellende Kommunikation gewährleisten können [ 14 ].…”

Change in mental health, physical health, and social relationships during highly restrictive lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Australia

“…Few studies have directly asked targeted questions about perceived relationship quality during the pandemic (Biddle et al, 2020b;Bulow et al, 2020;Cooper et al, 2020), and even less about the use of technology-mediated communication (Monin et al, 2020). In a recent Australian study Biddle et al (2020b) asked their 3,249 respondents from the general public 'How has the quality of your relationships with other people/family members in your household changed since the spread of COVID-19?'.…”