Article of the month – July 2020

The website committee selected as publication of the month July:

Verbeek, H., Gerritsen, D. L., Backhaus, R., de Boer, B. S., Koopmans, R. T., & Hamers, J. P. (2020). Allowing visitors back in the nursing home during the COVID-19 crisis–A Dutch national study into first experiences and impact on well-being. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

COVID-19 has had a big impact on both residents of nursing homes (most of them having dementia) and their families. This study looks into the first experiences and impact on well-being of the restrictive measures during the lockdown in The Netherlands. If no visits are allowed this has a big impact on well-being, but nursing homes face the dilemma of infection prevention versus allowing personal contacts. They seem to apply guidelines differently across individual locations. This is an issue with much relevance to all societies.