Thirsk, L. M., Stahlke, S., Perry, B., & Gordon, B. # Morethanavisitor: Experiences of COVID‐19 visitor restrictions in Canadian long‐term care facilities. Family Relations.

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Objective

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of families, residents, and staff around visitor restriction policies in long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.

Background

Beginning in March 2020, public health orders across Canada restricted visitors to long-term care facilities to curb the spread of the infection. This included family caregivers who provide significant support to residents to meet their physical, psychological, social, and safety needs.

Method

We collected data from publicly available news and social media. News articles, blogs, and tweets from Canada were collected from March 2020 to April 2021. In total, 40 news articles, eight blogs, and 23 tweets were analyzed using generic qualitative description.

Results

Reports from family members indicate that some residents may have died from malnutrition, dehydration, and isolation, rather than from COVID-19, because of the sudden and prolonged absence of family caregivers. There are long-term impacts on family suffering and long-term care worker burnout. Policy and structural issues were identified.

Conclusion

Experiences in long-term care reflected not only impacts of pandemic-related visitor restrictions, but also long-standing funding and workforce issues.

Implications

Involvement of family, and specifically family caregivers, is crucial in policy decisions, even in unusual circumstances, such as the pandemic.