The implications of COVID-19 on health and social care personnel in long-term care facilities for older people: An international scoping review.

Abstract

This scoping review mapped out the existing literature pertaining to health and social care personnel experiences during the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and their work in a long‐term care setting for older people. This review identified the gaps in the implications of health and social care personnel's own health and well‐being during the pandemic as well as the ethical dilemmas inherent in providing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The authors utilised the PRISMA checklist for undertaking scoping reviews. The Databases Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles in English that were published between March 28, 2020 and June 1, 2022. This time period was selected to focus specifically on the COVID‐19 pandemic. In the context of this review, long‐term care facilities were defined to include institutions such as nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, retirement homes and residential care homes. The gaps identified were a paucity of research on the experiences of health and social care personnel in long‐term care facilities, the impact on their mental health, and the wider challenges experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic is discussed. The findings of this scoping review indicate a need for adequate preparedness during a pandemic within the health and social care sector to protect health and social care personnel and the individuals they care for.