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Restricted visitation policies in acute care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review Moss, Stephana J.; Krewulak, Karla D.; Stelfox, Henry T.; Ahmed, Sofia B.; Anglin, Melanie C.; Bagshaw, Sean M.; Burns, Karen E. A.; Cook, Deborah J.; Doig, Christopher J.; Fox-Robichaud, Alison; Fowler, Robert; Hernández, Laura; Kho, Michelle E.; Kredentser, Maia; Makuk, Kira; Murthy, Srinivas; Niven, Daniel J.; Olafson, Kendiss; Parhar, Ken K. S.; Patten, Scott B.; Rewa, Oleksa G.; Rochwerg, Bram; Sept, Bonnie; Soo, Andrea; Spence, Krista; Spence, Sean; Straus, Sharon; West, Andrew; Parsons Leigh, Jeanna; Fiest, Kirsten M.

Abstract

Background Restricted visitation policies in acute care settings because of the COVID-19 pandemic have negative consequences. The objective of this scoping review is to identify impacts of restricted visitation policies in acute care settings, and describe perspectives and mitigation approaches among patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Healthstar, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials on January 01/2021, unrestricted, for published primary research records reporting any study design. We included secondary (e.g., reviews) and non-research records (e.g., commentaries), and performed manual searches in web-based resources. We excluded records that did not report primary data. Two reviewers independently abstracted data in duplicate. Results Of 7810 citations, we included 155 records. Sixty-six records (43%) were primary research; 29 (44%) case reports or case series, and 26 (39%) cohort studies; 21 (14%) were literature reviews and 8 (5%) were expert recommendations; 54 (35%) were commentary, editorial, or opinion pieces. Restricted visitation policies impacted coping and daily function (n = 31, 20%) and mental health outcomes (n = 29, 19%) of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Participants described a need for coping and support (n = 107, 69%), connection and communication (n = 107, 69%), and awareness of state of well-being (n = 101, 65%). Eighty-seven approaches to mitigate impact of restricted visitation were identified, targeting families (n = 61, 70%), patients (n = 51, 59%), and healthcare professionals (n = 40, 46%). Conclusions Patients, families, and healthcare professionals were impacted by restricted visitation polices in acute care settings during COVID-19. The consequences of this approach on patients and families are understudied and warrant evaluation of approaches to mitigate their impact. Future pandemic policy development should include the perspectives of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Trial registration: The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020221662) and a protocol peer-reviewed prior to data extraction.

Item Metadata

Title
Restricted visitation policies in acute care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review
Creator
Moss, Stephana J.; Krewulak, Karla D.; Stelfox, Henry T.; Ahmed, Sofia B.; Anglin, Melanie C.; Bagshaw, Sean M.; Burns, Karen E. A.; Cook, Deborah J.; Doig, Christopher J.; Fox-Robichaud, Alison; Fowler, Robert; Hernández, Laura; Kho, Michelle E.; Kredentser, Maia; Makuk, Kira; Murthy, Srinivas; Niven, Daniel J.; Olafson, Kendiss; Parhar, Ken K. S.; Patten, Scott B.; Rewa, Oleksa G.; Rochwerg, Bram; Sept, Bonnie; Soo, Andrea; Spence, Krista; Spence, Sean; Straus, Sharon; West, Andrew; Parsons Leigh, Jeanna; Fiest, Kirsten M.
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2021-09-25
Description
Background Restricted visitation policies in acute care settings because of the COVID-19 pandemic have negative consequences. The objective of this scoping review is to identify impacts of restricted visitation policies in acute care settings, and describe perspectives and mitigation approaches among patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Healthstar, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials on January 01/2021, unrestricted, for published primary research records reporting any study design. We included secondary (e.g., reviews) and non-research records (e.g., commentaries), and performed manual searches in web-based resources. We excluded records that did not report primary data. Two reviewers independently abstracted data in duplicate. Results Of 7810 citations, we included 155 records. Sixty-six records (43%) were primary research; 29 (44%) case reports or case series, and 26 (39%) cohort studies; 21 (14%) were literature reviews and 8 (5%) were expert recommendations; 54 (35%) were commentary, editorial, or opinion pieces. Restricted visitation policies impacted coping and daily function (n = 31, 20%) and mental health outcomes (n = 29, 19%) of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Participants described a need for coping and support (n = 107, 69%), connection and communication (n = 107, 69%), and awareness of state of well-being (n = 101, 65%). Eighty-seven approaches to mitigate impact of restricted visitation were identified, targeting families (n = 61, 70%), patients (n = 51, 59%), and healthcare professionals (n = 40, 46%). Conclusions Patients, families, and healthcare professionals were impacted by restricted visitation polices in acute care settings during COVID-19. The consequences of this approach on patients and families are understudied and warrant evaluation of approaches to mitigate their impact. Future pandemic policy development should include the perspectives of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Trial registration: The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020221662) and a protocol peer-reviewed prior to data extraction.
Subject
COVID-19; Hospital Policy; Acute care; Family presence; Visitors
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-10-15
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0402534
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79980
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Pediatrics, Department of
Citation
Critical Care. 2021 Sep 25;25(1):347
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s13054-021-03763-7
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)