Researchers hope findings will help ease lockdown loneliness in long-term care if restrictions return

A report published by Support N.L. and Memorial University says residents of long-term care faced feelings of confusion, isolation and abandonment due to visitor restrictions put in place as a result of COVID-19. (Richard Lyons/Shutterstock)

Researchers behind a new report hope their recommendations can ease feelings of stress and isolation for residents in long-term care in the event that restrictions — like those faced during the COVID-19 pandemic — are ever required again.

The report, titled Through the Looking Glass and released by Support N.L. and Memorial University, details the impact of isolation in the Eastern and Western health zones of Newfoundland through the perspective of 184 visitors — the family and friends of people in care.

"We heard many stories in the survey from visitors about the impact that visitor restrictions were having on their mental and physical health … creating feelings among the residents of loneliness, isolation, confusion and abandonment," survey patient partner Cris Carter told CBC News in a recent interview.

Patient partners are volunteers who played an equal role with researchers, Carter said, providing the perspective of patients and insights into what people might have been feeling based on lived experience.

"This sense of abandonment was particularly strong for those with cognitive issues and dementia. So they didn't understand what was going on, and they felt their family was abandoning them."

Provincial governments across Canada stopped visitation to long-term care homes at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and visitor restrictions in Newfoundland were sometimes put in place in the years that followed as case numbers fluctuated.

Carter said other main takeaways from the report included the importance and health benefits of social connection between residents alongside visits from family and friends, and the role policy makers have in balancing the needs of safety with quality of life for residents.

LISTEN |  Cris Carter and Robert Wilson of Quality of Care N.L. speak with CBC Host Martin Jones:

"During COVID, a lot of the socialization activities were stopped. People in residence were confined to their rooms," Carter said.

"Because visitors are so important to the life of residents in terms of caretaking and emotional support, their restrictions were hard felt by their loved ones."

The report outlines five recommendations for policy makers:

• Always allow at least one visitor in long-term care facilities to support a resident's quality of life, and permit alternative visitors to reduce the burden on the designated visitor.

• Prioritize socialization and connection between residents while minimizing restrictions on social activities.

• Improve communication between staff members and residents in relation to policy and decisions that affect their physical and mental care.

• Consider people's different needs and circumstances when developing policy, like cognitive or physical impairments, for example.

• Make methods of communication available to residents that they can use on their own or with help and support of staff or visitors.

Robert Wilson, manager of Quality of Care N.L., the group that guided the research, said he hopes to see the research guide future decisions in long-term care.

"The means of this report is to kind of have a template to drive change …[so] if it does happen again that we can mitigate some of this."

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