Digital Health and Caregiving Resources Used by Family Caregivers of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Joel G AndersonAudrey J SummersSangwoo AhnRobin F HarrisJennifer L SmithJennifer M Jabson TreeAllyson M NealMitsunori MisawaAmy J RauerPublished in: Journal of family nursing (2024)
Caregiving is often associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes, and as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, caregivers experienced more burden and provided more care with substantially less support. Digital resources may have been one way caregivers managed demands for care and needs for information. This mixed-methods study included surveys and semi-structured interviews with caregivers ( n = 11) to describe experiences and use of digital health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers most often provided significant physical care and experienced reduced or no social support during the pandemic. Caregivers reported the need for improving the quality of telehealth services and digital health resources. COVID-19 will not likely be the last pandemic faced by contemporary society. Measures should be taken to reduce the anticipated negative impacts on caregivers and those receiving care during future pandemics.
Keyphrases
- palliative care
- mental health
- healthcare
- coronavirus disease
- social support
- sars cov
- quality improvement
- public health
- health information
- depressive symptoms
- affordable care act
- mental illness
- randomized controlled trial
- pain management
- health promotion
- primary care
- type diabetes
- study protocol
- climate change
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- health insurance
- risk factors
- current status
- double blind