Digital Health and Caregiving Resources Used by Family Caregivers of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

Caregiving is often associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes, and as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, caregivers experienced more burden and provided more care with substantially less support. Digital resources may have been one way caregivers managed demands for care and needs for information. This mixed-methods study included surveys and semi-structured interviews with caregivers (n = 11) to describe experiences and use of digital health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers most often provided significant physical care and experienced reduced or no social support during the pandemic. Caregivers reported the need for improving the quality of telehealth services and digital health resources. COVID-19 will not likely be the last pandemic faced by contemporary society. Measures should be taken to reduce the anticipated negative impacts on caregivers and those receiving care during future pandemics.