Dataset Information

Fighting social isolation in times of pandemic COVID-19: the role of video calls for older hospitalized patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with anxiety and psychological discomfort, especially amongst the oldest and fragile persons.

Aims

SILVER evaluates the acceptance of video calls by old hospitalized patients and their relatives during the ban on visits due to the COVID-19. Moreover, SILVER evaluates if the use of different communication technology is associated with different outcomes in terms of anxiety, fear of self and of others' death and mood.

Methods

SILVER is an observational multicentre study. Patients hospitalized in two geriatric units in Switzerland and in one orthogeriatric unit in Italy and their relatives were enrolled. Participants can freely choose to use phone or video calls and were evaluated over a week. We measured anxiety, fear of death and mood at baseline and at the end of the study with standard scales. The use of video or phone calls was associated to a change in these parameters by two-way ANOVA for repeated measures.

Results

Sixty-four patients and relatives were enrolled, 26.5% used phone calls and 73.5% video calls. The use of video calls was associated with a reduction in anxiety and fear of death in patients and relatives as compared to participants using phone calls.

Discussion

Old patients and their relatives accepted and appreciated the use of video calls during hospitalization; moreover, participant using video calls appears to be less anxious and less afraid of death.

Conclusions

Video calls may be a useful communication tool for hospitalized older patients to keep social relationships with relatives and reduce their anxiety and fear of death.

Trial registration

Retrospectively registered on 1st September 2021 in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05000099).

SUBMITTER: Durst AV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9261146 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Social isolation in geriatric institutions is a real threat to older adults' (OAs) well-being. Visits from family members, when they are not impacted by geographical distance or illness, sometimes fail to provide sufficient opportunities for social connectedness and interaction to prevent and/or combat OAs' loneliness and social isolation. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer promising solutions to this problem. Video calls provide a quick and convenient way for remote communication between OAs and their families, and a complement to face-to-face visits in geriatric settings. Over the last months, during the several confinements imposed to stop the transmission of COVID-19 over the world, several care homes and long-care facilities have equipped themselves with laptops, tablets and video call applications to help OAs remain in contact with their relatives. However, numerous technical and human-related factors may hinder the use of video calls in these settings. The complexity of technological devices, as well as OAs limited digital skills, low confidence and experience in the use of technology are some examples. Furthermore, the specific context of use and the required implication of multiple actors (care professionals, family members) should also be considered when examining the use and implementation of video calls in geriatric institutions. We conducted a narrative review of literature describing the use of video calls in geriatric institutions between 2000 and 2021, especially because of the little information related to OAs' use of video calls in geriatric settings. One thousand one hundred ninety-seven references were screened and 15 studies focusing on the usability, acceptability and effectiveness of video calls were included. A qualitative, deductive thematic analysis inspired by a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) multidimensional model was used to identify barriers, enablers and solutions to video calls implementation in geriatric institutions. The results from the HTA-based analysis provide encouraging evidence for the feasibility of video call use in geriatric settings, and its efficacy on reducing social isolation among residents. However, numerous technical, human-related, ethical and organizational barriers persist and should be addressed in future works. The present analysis has also allowed the identification of potential solutions to overcome these barriers, which are discussed in this publication.

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