Qualitative Study of Chinese Stroke Caregivers’ Caregiving Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Abstract

Background and Purpose:

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has led to disruptions in health care service delivery worldwide, inevitably affecting stroke survivors requiring ongoing rehabilitation and chronic illness management. To date, no published research has been found on stroke caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to explore Hong Kong stroke caregivers’ caregiving experiences in the midst of this difficult time.

Methods:

Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 Chinese adult primary stroke caregivers from May to June 2020 via telephone. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an interpretive description approach and constant comparison strategy.

Results:

Five themes of the stroke caregiving experience during the COVID-19 pandemic emerged: care service adversities, additional caregiving workload and strain, threatened relationship between caregiver and stroke survivors, threats to caregivers’ physical and psychological well-being, and needs for continuing caregiving roles. Our findings suggested that caregivers have worsened physical and psychological well-being because of increases in care burden with simultaneously reduced formal and informal support. The relationship between caregiver and stroke survivor was subsequently affected, placing some survivors at heightened risk of abuse.

Conclusions:

Our study provides valuable findings about stroke caregiving experiences and needs during the pandemic. Delivery of psychological support, telemedicine, and household hygiene resources would be useful to mitigate caregivers’ psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Samantha K. Brooks, Rebecca K Webster, Louise E. Smith … (2022)

Summary The December, 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak has seen many countries ask people who have potentially come into contact with the infection to isolate themselves at home or in a dedicated quarantine facility. Decisions on how to apply quarantine should be based on the best available evidence. We did a Review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases. Of 3166 papers found, 24 are included in this Review. Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Some researchers have suggested long-lasting effects. In situations where quarantine is deemed necessary, officials should quarantine individuals for no longer than required, provide clear rationale for quarantine and information about protocols, and ensure sufficient supplies are provided. Appeals to altruism by reminding the public about the benefits of quarantine to wider society can be favourable.

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Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

Jay Bavel, Katherine Baicker, Paulo S Boggio … (2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.

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Ravi Philip Rajkumar (2020)

Highlights • Subsyndromal mental health concerns are a common response to the COVID-19 outbreak. • These responses affect both the general public and healthcare workers. • Depressive and anxiety symptoms have been reported in 16–28% of subjects screened. • Novel methods of consultation, such as online services, can be helpful for these patients. • There is a need for further long-term research in this area, especially from other countries