“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been put through in my life”: the trauma experienced by essential family caregivers of loved ones in long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Chu, Charlene H.; Yee, Amanda; Stamatopoulos, Vivian

doi:10.1080/17482631.2022.2075532

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…Instead, the actions of LTCHs' administrators and the social dynamics throughout the COVID-19 pandemic indicated to EFCs that the homes were complicit in the unintended neglect of care for the residents. Another recent study highlights the collective trauma suffered by family caregivers (Chu et al, 2022a). Reconciling and rebuilding the trust lost throughout the pandemic will require actions that reaffirm the value of care partnerships between residents' families and staff.…”

Section: Theme 3: Increasing Discord Between Efcs and Staff During Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“We’ve All Lost So Much”: The Long-Term Care Home Experiences of Essential Family Caregivers During COVID-19

2022

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Background During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, long-term care homes (LTCHs) imposed visitor restrictions that prevented essential family caregivers (EFCs) from entering the homes. Under these policies, EFCs had to engage in virtual, window, and outdoor visits, prior to the re-initiation of indoor visits. Objective To understand EFCs’ visitation experiences with LTCH residents during COVID-19. Methods Seven virtual focus groups with EFCs were conducted and analysed using a thematic approach. Findings Six themes were identified: (a) inconsistent and poor communication; (b) lack of staffing and resources; (c) increasing discord between EFCs and staff during COVID-19; (d) shock related to reunification; (e) lack of a person-centred or family-centred approach; and, (f) EFC and resident relationships as collateral damage. Discussion Our findings reflect how EFCs’ visitation experiences were affected by factors at the individual, LTCH, and health-system levels. Future sectoral responses and visitation guidelines should recognize EFCs as an integral part of the care team.

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Section: Theme 3: Increasing Discord Between Efcs and Staff During Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“We’ve All Lost So Much”: The Long-Term Care Home Experiences of Essential Family Caregivers During COVID-19

2022

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“…Second, it is more likely that these excess deaths, to the extent they may be related to delayed acute care, were due to fear of COVID-19 inculcated in the population [40], and to cruel hospital visitation policies [41][42][43], factors that prevented people from seeking healthcare for any condition. These excess deaths were due to policies, and not the COVID-19 pandemic itself.…”

Section: Effect Of Vaccination On Access To Acute Care and All-cause ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoidable Intensive Care Resource Use of Unvaccinated COVID-19 Patients: Interpretation and Policy Implications

Joffe¹,

Milburn²

2023

Preprint

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Given that population COVID-19 vaccination does not appreciably reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, instead, the potential to reduce hospitalization has been used to justify coercive vaccine passports. We aim to use a recently published research study as an example in order to demonstrate how data can be misinterpreted and result in deriving misleading ethical and policy implications. Bagshaw et al wrote that unvaccinated patients with COVID-19 in Alberta, Canada “had substantially greater rates of ICU admissions, ICU bed days, and ICU related costs than vaccinated patients did. This increased resource use would have been potentially avoidable had these unvaccinated patients been vaccinated.” The authors in Bagshaw et al then concluded that their findings “have important implications for discourse on the relative balance of increasingly stringent public health protection (restrictions), including mandatory vaccination policies, and the sustainability and function of health system infrastructure and capacity during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” Here we show the following. First, the effect of vaccination on intensive care admissions were grossly over-estimated due to several limitations of this and almost all other vaccine studies. Second, an effect of vaccination on access to acute care and on all-cause excess deaths was grossly over-stated due to several more likely causes being omitted from discussion and from the common narrative. Third, policy implications were overstated and at best unclear due to missing consideration of more relevant aspects required to inform policy. Overall, the data cannot support what Bagshaw et al called “increasingly stringent public health protection (restrictions), including mandatory vaccination policies”.

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“…One population-based study reported an increase in the proportion of residents prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotic medication during the first 7 months of the pandemic 12. A number of qualitative investigations reported substantial stress for families with limited opportunities for social engagement with residents, exclusion from regular routines, and changes in identity as caregiver roles were altered or dismissed 10,13–15. This large and growing body of literature increased awareness of the negative consequences of visitor restrictions on the physical and psychosocial health and well-being of both LTC home residents and their families 12,16.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 A number of qualitative investigations reported substantial stress for families with limited opportunities for social engagement with residents, exclusion from regular routines, and changes in identity as caregiver roles were altered or dismissed. 10,[13][14][15] This large and growing body of literature increased awareness of the negative consequences of visitor restrictions on the physical and psychosocial health and well-being of both LTC home residents and their families. 12,16 Awareness of the impact of countermeasures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 also raises questions about LTC homes' responses to other infectious outbreaks, both preand post-pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education and training for infection prevention and control provided by long-term care homes to family caregivers: a scoping review protocol

MacLean

Durepos

Gibbons

et al. 2023

JBI Evidence Synthesis

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Objective: The objective of this review is to map the infection prevention and control education and training that long-term care homes use with families during a pandemic or infectious outbreak. Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions were imposed on visits to long-term care homes to decrease the risk of virus transmission. These restrictions had negative consequences for both residents and families. A scoping review of infection prevention and control education and training used with families will inform family visitation practices and policies during future infectious outbreaks. Inclusion criteria: This review will examine literature describing infection prevention and control education and training provided to families in long-term care homes. Research and narrative papers, including experimental; quasi-experimental; descriptive observational quantitative and qualitative studies; and reviews, text, policy, and opinion papers, will be considered for inclusion. Methods: A 3-step approach will be followed, in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Published literature will be searched for in databases, including CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, MEDLINE, and AgeLine. Published and unpublished papers will be considered from 1990 to the present, in English or French. The World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and the Public Health Agency of Canada websites will be searched for unpublished and gray literature. Two authors will independently review and assess studies for inclusion and extract the data. The findings will be charted in a narrative summary and tables.

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“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been put through in my life”: the trauma experienced by essential family caregivers of loved ones in long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

“We’ve All Lost So Much”: The Long-Term Care Home Experiences of Essential Family Caregivers During COVID-19

“We’ve All Lost So Much”: The Long-Term Care Home Experiences of Essential Family Caregivers During COVID-19

Avoidable Intensive Care Resource Use of Unvaccinated COVID-19 Patients: Interpretation and Policy Implications

Education and training for infection prevention and control provided by long-term care homes to family caregivers: a scoping review protocol

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