The Impact of COVID-19 on Social Isolation in Long-term Care Homes: Perspectives of Policies and Strategies from Six Countries

ABSTRACT

Preventing the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care homes is critical for the health of residents who live in these institutions. As a result, broad policies restricting visits to these facilities were put in place internationally. While well meaning, these policies have exacerbated the ongoing social isolation crisis present in long-term care homes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This perspective highlights the dominant COVID-19 LTC policies from six countries, and proposes five strategies to address or mitigate social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic that can also be applied in a post-pandemic world.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• long-term care
• nursing home
• social isolation
• international

Key points

• Social distancing guidelines and restrictions meant to protect residents of LTC homes have inadvertently prioritized quantity of life over quality of life, and have worsened the ongoing social isolation crisis among older adults.

• We identified commonalities of dominant policies from Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States that impacted social isolation in LTC homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• We suggest strategies that can be implemented concurrently with broad policies to promote person-centered care and improve residents’ social and mental wellbeing.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Allison Souter and Amanda My Linh Quan for their contributions to data collection and proofreading the article

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).