Shinya Ishii, a professor of the Department of Symbiotic Social Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Hiroshima University, is a group of professors with dementia who are hospitalized or are in the hospital under the spread of the new coronavirus infection (around February to June 2020). We conducted an online survey to find out how it affected them and their families.
The research was conducted in collaboration with the Japan Geriatrics Society and the Department of Public Health, Hiroshima University.The survey was conducted targeting elderly medical / nursing facilities and long-term care support specialists nationwide, and responses were obtained from 945 facilities / long-term care support specialists.
According to the survey, there was a big change in the operation status of inpatient medical and long-term care facilities in Corona, and it was found that almost all facilities had restrictions on the daily activities of residents. rice field.Regarding outpatient services and home-visit services, 32.5% of long-term care support specialists answered that there was a major change in the operational status of their business establishments.71.5% of people with dementia answered that they "could not receive" or "could not receive" at least some services.
What was the impact on people with dementia? 38.5% of medical / nursing care facilities and 38.1% of long-term care support specialists answered that they had an impact.The effects observed included the appearance / deterioration of behavioral psychological symptoms, decreased cognitive function, and decreased physical activity.
When asked about the burden on the family when they could not receive the long-term care insurance service, 72.6% of the long-term care support specialists answered that "the family sometimes provided long-term care."Regarding the impact on the family, about 4% answered that they were absent from work, and more than 2% answered that they had a physical and mental burden.
In the future, Professor Ishii and his colleagues will work with the Akita University Center for Advanced Medical Care for the Elderly, etc. to target employees of medical care facilities for the elderly and care support specialists in order to further investigate the actual situation of people with dementia in corona. We plan to conduct an interview survey.The survey results are expected to be used as basic data for examining what kind of support is appropriate for elderly people with dementia to practice a "new lifestyle" to prevent the spread of infection.
