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Caring for residents with dementia during a COVID‐19 outbreak in a long‐term care home
Lillian Hung. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2021
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Abstract Background Although there have been considerable public concerns about the impact of COVID‐19 on residents living in long‐term care homes, much less attention has focused on lessons learned from staff experiences about caring for people with dementia during outbreaks. The outbreaks added significant additional stress to the nursing workforce, which has historically experienced high turnover, chronic staffing shortages, and increased burnout in long‐term care settings. We conducted focus groups (n=20) and individual interviews (n=10) to investigate critical challenges, experiences, and support needed for frontline staff in a long‐term care home in British Columbia, Canada. A total of 30 staff in multiple disciplines participated in the study. They included Registered Nurses, Licenced Practical Nurses, care staff, recreational staff, and unit clerks. We applied qualitative thematic analysis and identified four themes: (a) I am proud, (b) we become stronger, (c) I am nervous (d) the vaccine helps. The frontline staff's voices provided a detailed description of their emotional experiences, creative coping strategies and positive stories about caring for the most vulnerable population in extraordinary situations. In our poster, lessons learned and implications for future research and practice will be explored and discussed.
Key findings
- The outbreaks added significant additional stress to the nursing workforce, which has historically experienced high turnover, chronic staffing shortages, and increased burnout in long‐term care settings.
Why it matters
This qualitative study describes staff experiences of caring for residents with dementia during a COVID-19 outbreak in a long-term care home. It provides no information on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants20
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 35/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 20 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.1 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Lillian Hung: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of British Columbia: institution h-index 1,424 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 35 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hung, L. (2021). Caring for residents with dementia during a COVID‐19 outbreak in a long‐term care home. Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.057324
Vancouver
Hung L. Caring for residents with dementia during a COVID‐19 outbreak in a long‐term care home. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2021. doi:10.1002/alz.057324.
BibTeX
@article{hung2021-1c2bb352,
author = {Hung, Lillian},
title = {{Caring for residents with dementia during a COVID‐19 outbreak in a long‐term care home}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& Dementia},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1002/alz.057324},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.057324}
}
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