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https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/55745
DEATH AND OTHER LOSSES IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS IN THE PERCEPTION OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
Death
Long-term care facility for older adults
Occupational therapist
Qualitative study
Author
Affilliation
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Geriatrician. Conviver Complexo de Atenção ao Idoso. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil / Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Rene Rachou Institute. Center for Studies in Public Health and Aging. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
Geriatrician. Conviver Complexo de Atenção ao Idoso. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Occupational Therapy Department. Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Occupational Therapy Department. Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Geriatrician. Conviver Complexo de Atenção ao Idoso. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil / Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Rene Rachou Institute. Center for Studies in Public Health and Aging. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
Geriatrician. Conviver Complexo de Atenção ao Idoso. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Occupational Therapy Department. Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Occupational Therapy Department. Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Abstract
Long-term care facilities for older adults (LTCFs) were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to discuss the perceptions of occupational therapists about deaths and other losses in LTCFs during the pandemic. This qualitative study is anchored in social phenomenology, and conducted in-depth interviews with eight occupational therapists who worked in LTCFs. Thus, two themes were generated after the Thematic Analyses: "The proximity of death" and "Losses associated with living and dying in a LTCF." In the first theme, the interviewees addressed the feeling of imminent death in the daily life of the LTCF, and feelings related to their own death, that of their family members and other older adults. In the second, the professionals highlighted three groups of losses: social, functional, and psychological/cognitive. These results highlighted the challenges faced by occupational therapists and can contribute to improve behavior and care for institutionalized older adults during the pandemic.
Keywords
COVID-19Death
Long-term care facility for older adults
Occupational therapist
Qualitative study
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