Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has required restrictions of daily activities, which has been found to impact the lives of persons living with dementia (PLWDs) and their family caregivers, who have multiple care demands. The lack of relevant studies in Taiwan emphasized the need to explore...

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Main Authors: Ya-Li Sung, Huei-Ling Huang, Chung-Chih Lin, Teppo Kröger, Wen-Chuin Hsu, Jung-Lung Hsu, Yueh-E. Lin, Yea-Ing L. Shyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-08-01
Series:BMC Geriatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03379-8
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author Ya-Li Sung
Huei-Ling Huang
Chung-Chih Lin
Teppo Kröger
Wen-Chuin Hsu
Jung-Lung Hsu
Yueh-E. Lin
Yea-Ing L. Shyu
author_facet Ya-Li Sung
Huei-Ling Huang
Chung-Chih Lin
Teppo Kröger
Wen-Chuin Hsu
Jung-Lung Hsu
Yueh-E. Lin
Yea-Ing L. Shyu
author_sort Ya-Li Sung
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has required restrictions of daily activities, which has been found to impact the lives of persons living with dementia (PLWDs) and their family caregivers, who have multiple care demands. The lack of relevant studies in Taiwan emphasized the need to explore the experiences of family caregivers of older PLWDs faced with the intensified restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19, and the impact of the availability of a smart-clothes home nursing program. Methods This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with family caregivers of older PLWDs. Participants were recruited from dementia clinics of a medical center in northern Taiwan from a subset of a sample from a larger study on smart-clothes assisted home nursing care. A total of 12 family caregivers who participated in the original study were interviewed during the follow-up period; seven family caregivers of a PLWD wearing a smart-vest, which transmitted information to a home care nurse; five caregivers of a PLWD not wearing a smart-vest. Interviews were conducted by telephone because the conditions of the pandemic prevented face-to-face interviews. Recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. Results Interview data showed family caregivers’ felt the care recipient’s health was compromised and functional conditions intensified as Covid-19-related pandemic restrictions increased. Specific concerns included a lack social interactions, decreased daily activity levels, loss of interest and lack of motivation for activities, increased mood and behavioral problems, a decline in physical function and an increase in health problems. Family caregivers were also impacted by these restrictions, with significant increases in severity of caregiver role strain, including feeling trapped, a lack of in-home support, profound powerlessness, and worries about the PLWD contracting the coronavirus. The smart-clothes assisted home nursing care program offered supplementary support to family caregivers by providing on-time interactions, helping them manage health problems, enhancing predictability of the care recipient’s behaviors, and providing caregivers with emotional support. Conclusions The findings of this study support alternative care such as implementation of technology-assisted home health services to meet caregiver needs to facilitate family caregiving of PLWDs during the necessary restrictions in activities implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Record NCT05063045.
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spelling doaj.art-c940dc10525442748c833b2e07f63ff62022-12-22T04:18:55ZengBMCBMC Geriatrics1471-23182022-08-0122111110.1186/s12877-022-03379-8Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alertYa-Li Sung0Huei-Ling Huang1Chung-Chih Lin2Teppo Kröger3Wen-Chuin Hsu4Jung-Lung Hsu5Yueh-E. Lin6Yea-Ing L. Shyu7School of Nursing, Change Gung University, Guishan DistrictDepartment of Gerontology and Health Care Management, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Chang Gung UniversityDepartment of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of JyväskyläDementia Center, Department of Neurology, Taoyuan Chang Gung Memorial HospitalDepartment of Neurology, New Taipei Municipal Tu Cheng Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung UniversityDepartment of Nursing, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial HospitalSchool of Nursing, Change Gung University, Guishan DistrictAbstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has required restrictions of daily activities, which has been found to impact the lives of persons living with dementia (PLWDs) and their family caregivers, who have multiple care demands. The lack of relevant studies in Taiwan emphasized the need to explore the experiences of family caregivers of older PLWDs faced with the intensified restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19, and the impact of the availability of a smart-clothes home nursing program. Methods This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with family caregivers of older PLWDs. Participants were recruited from dementia clinics of a medical center in northern Taiwan from a subset of a sample from a larger study on smart-clothes assisted home nursing care. A total of 12 family caregivers who participated in the original study were interviewed during the follow-up period; seven family caregivers of a PLWD wearing a smart-vest, which transmitted information to a home care nurse; five caregivers of a PLWD not wearing a smart-vest. Interviews were conducted by telephone because the conditions of the pandemic prevented face-to-face interviews. Recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. Results Interview data showed family caregivers’ felt the care recipient’s health was compromised and functional conditions intensified as Covid-19-related pandemic restrictions increased. Specific concerns included a lack social interactions, decreased daily activity levels, loss of interest and lack of motivation for activities, increased mood and behavioral problems, a decline in physical function and an increase in health problems. Family caregivers were also impacted by these restrictions, with significant increases in severity of caregiver role strain, including feeling trapped, a lack of in-home support, profound powerlessness, and worries about the PLWD contracting the coronavirus. The smart-clothes assisted home nursing care program offered supplementary support to family caregivers by providing on-time interactions, helping them manage health problems, enhancing predictability of the care recipient’s behaviors, and providing caregivers with emotional support. Conclusions The findings of this study support alternative care such as implementation of technology-assisted home health services to meet caregiver needs to facilitate family caregiving of PLWDs during the necessary restrictions in activities implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Record NCT05063045.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03379-8Smart-clothesHomecare nursingFamily caregiversDementiaCOVID-19 pandemic
spellingShingle Ya-Li Sung
Huei-Ling Huang
Chung-Chih Lin
Teppo Kröger
Wen-Chuin Hsu
Jung-Lung Hsu
Yueh-E. Lin
Yea-Ing L. Shyu
Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
BMC Geriatrics
Smart-clothes
Homecare nursing
Family caregivers
Dementia
COVID-19 pandemic
title Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
title_full Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
title_fullStr Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
title_full_unstemmed Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
title_short Experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart- clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened COVID-19 alert
title_sort experiences of family caregivers of persons living with dementia with and without a smart clothes assisted home nursing program during the heightened covid 19 alert
topic Smart-clothes
Homecare nursing
Family caregivers
Dementia
COVID-19 pandemic
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03379-8
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