Second set of eyes: Family caregivers and post-acute home health care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: This study aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the experiences of family caregivers of older adults who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and discharged to post-acute, skilled home health care (HHC) services.Methods: Thirty semi-structured interviews with family caregivers of older adults who received services from a large, not-for-profit HHC agency following hospitalization with COVID-19 infection were conducted between March-July 2021 and analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: During the pandemic, family caregivers encountered societal and institutional barriers to assisting older adults across post-acute care transitions. These barriers included hospital visitation restrictions as well as dif-ficulties accessing community-based resources and medical equipment. Despite limitations and delays in HHC services, many family caregivers identified post-acute HHC, delivered in-person or via telehealth, as important to addressing care gaps for older adults, as well as their own needs for training and support during the pandemic.Conclusions: Policies intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19 introduced new challenges for caregivers during HHC. However, HHC agencies and their staff adapted within this context to provide a needed bridge of support.

Automated summary

This study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic affected family caregivers of older adults who were hospitalized with the virus and then received post-acute home health care services. The findings revealed that family caregivers faced barriers in assisting older adults during post-acute care transitions due to hospital visitation restrictions and difficulties accessing community-based resources and medical equipment. Despite these challenges, many caregivers identified post-acute home health care, whether in-person or via telehealth, as crucial for addressing care gaps for older adults and their own needs for training and support during the pandemic.