‘We went from understanding, to disappointment, resentment and often grief all in the space of 6 months’ A qualitative study of the stories of family carers of care home residents during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

Hinsliff-Smith, Kathryn; Griffiths, Sarah; Padley, Wendy; De Vries, Kay; Brown, Jane

Abstract

When the WHO announced a global pandemic in response to COVID-19, individual countries reacted in a similar way with care homes closing their doors to visits, including visits from family members. The UK was no different, initially they closed to protect care home residents during a period of uncertainty, particularly as many were frail, with complex health needs and classed as vulnerable to the virus. This did however, create a sustained period of uncertainty for family members as well as the wider UK care home community. During 2020, 13 family carers in the UK shared their experiences through this period of COVID related enforced lockdowns, in total 27 interviews were conducted.

Our findings and three themes narrate to time points when we were conducting interviews and were often linked to key changes in policy, often in the wider society but not conveyed into care home practices or visiting policies. Three overarching themes are described: Understanding and Acceptance, Disappointment and Resentment, Grief and Sense of Loss

Citation

Hinsliff-Smith, K., Griffiths, S., Padley, W., De Vries, K., & Brown, J. ‘We went from understanding, to disappointment, resentment and often grief all in the space of 6 months’ A qualitative study of the stories of family carers of care home residents during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

• Working Paper Type: Working Paper
• Deposit Date: Apr 20, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 24, 2023
• Series Title: East Midlands Research into Ageing Network (EMRAN) Discussion Paper Series
• Series Number: 50
• Series ISSN: 2059-3341
• Keywords: Family carers, visiting, care home practice, communication, residents and families, COVID-19 pandemic
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19785443
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.17639/bwd0-0j17
• Related Public URLs: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/emran/
• Additional Information: Issue 50, April 2023