Addressing Dementia Care Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives From Home Care Workers.
Sue Anne Bell, Katherine Kruger, Ryoko Ikari and 3 others
PMID 39778159WHAT IT FOUND
Home care workers said masks made it hard for clients with dementia to recognize them and read faces.
They reported using hand signals and eye contact, and said familiar activities and companionship helped keep clients calm.
Key findings
0150% of interviewed home care workers said clients with dementia struggled to follow pandemic precautions such as masking.
02Masks made it harder for clients with dementia to recognize caregivers and receive nonverbal cues, and workers reported using hand signals and eye contact.
0350% of workers said recreation and companionship were important for clients with dementia, and personalized activities were described as supporting calm and well-being.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was 34 home care workers from one region of Michigan, so it may not reflect workers elsewhere. It reports workers' perspectives only, not client or family perspectives, so it cannot show what clients experienced or how care changed outcomes. It is qualitative, so it describes barriers and adaptations but cannot test whether those adaptations improved safety, communication, agitation, or well-being. Some reported counts are based on 24 interviews while 34 participants completed interviews, so the denominator for each theme is not fully clear. Respondent-driven sampling recruits through peer networks, so participants may share similar backgrounds and views.
Declared interests
The authors declared no affiliations with entities with direct or indirect financial interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hand signals, eye contact, or household chores improve client outcomes. The study reports what home care workers said they did, not tested patient effects.