Background:

To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers.

Method:

Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020. Participants were asked about their experiences of accessing social support services during the pandemic, and the impact of restrictions on their daily lives.

Results:

20 interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed, which produced 3 primary themes concerning emotional responses and impact to mental health and wellbeing during the course of the pandemic: 1) Impact on mental health during lockdown, 2) Changes to mental health following easing of public health, and 3) The long-term effect of public health measures.

Conclusions:

The findings from this research shed light on the longer-term psychological impacts of the UK Government’s public health measures on PLWD and their carers. The loss of social support services was key in impacting this cohort mentally and emotionally, displaying a need for better psychological support, for both carers and PLWD.

中文翻译：

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对痴呆症患者和护理人员采取 COVID-19 公共卫生措施后的情绪和心理健康

背景：

迄今为止，似乎没有证据表明 COVID-19 及其相关的公共卫生限制对我们社会中一些最弱势群体造成的长期影响。本研究的目的是探讨 COVID-19 公共卫生措施对痴呆症患者 (PLWD) 和无偿照顾者心理健康影响的变化。

方法：

在 2020 年 6 月至 2020 年 7 月期间，对 PLWD 和无偿照顾者进行了半结构化的后续电话访谈。参与者被问及他们在大流行期间获得社会支持服务的经历，以及限制对其日常生活的影响。

结果：

进行了 20 次访谈并进行了主题分析，得出了 3 个主要主题，涉及情绪反应以及大流行期间对心理健康和福祉的影响：1) 封锁期间对心理健康的影响，2) 公共卫生放松后心理健康的变化, 和 3) 公共卫生措施的长期影响。

结论：

这项研究的结果揭示了英国政府的公共卫生措施对 PLWD 及其照顾者的长期心理影响。社会支持服务的丧失是影响这一群体心理和情感的关键，这表明护理人员和 PLWD 需要更好的心理支持。