Caring for Older People during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Residential Health Care Workers

Veronica Sze-Ki Lai, Sui-Yu Yau, Linda Yin-King Lee, Becky Siu-Yin Li, Susan Sin-Ping Law and Shixin Huang ()
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Veronica Sze-Ki Lai: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
Sui-Yu Yau: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
Linda Yin-King Lee: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
Becky Siu-Yin Li: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
Susan Sin-Ping Law: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
Shixin Huang: Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: Older people and health care workers in residential care homes are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 has been spreading around the world for more than two years, the nature of care delivery has been substantially transformed. This study aims at understanding the long-term and ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the delivery of care in residential care homes. It investigates how the delivery of care has been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and how health care workers adapted to these changes from the perspectives of frontline health care workers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from February to December 2021 with a purposive sample of 30 health care workers from six residential care homes in Hong Kong. Thematic analysis identified three themes, including (1) enhancing infection prevention and control measures; (2) maintaining the psychosocial wellbeing of residents; and (3) developing resilience. Discussions and implications were drawn from these findings.

Keywords: COVID-19; long-term care facilities; health care workers; delivery of care; qualitative study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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