Abstract
The strict restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted the lives of many at-risk people and their family caregivers. This study explored how family caregivers perceived that family caregiving had changed during COVID-19 and the strategies they used to cope with these changes. We conducted 52 semi-structured interviews with family caregivers of adults over age 65 or adults with disabilities and analyzed the data through an inductive thematic analysis. Caregivers perceived the largest COVID-19-related caregiving changes to be limited social and physical contacts, changed caregiving tasks, reduced services and supports, and a new focus on vigilance and safety. Caregivers made numerous changes to caregiving, including keeping connected, keeping relatives occupied, getting support and services in new ways, and reducing caregiver stress.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine |
| Volume | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation, University of Minnesota.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
Keywords
- aging
- connections
- family caregivers
- older people
- supports
- technology
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article