Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with dementia in numerous ways. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the COVID-19 impact on people with dementia and their care partners.ObjectiveUsing Twitter, the purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of COVID-19 for people with dementia and their care partners.MethodsWe collected tweets on COVID-19 and dementia using the GetOldTweets application in Python from February 15 to September 7, 2020. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the tweets.ResultsFrom the 5063 tweets analyzed with line-by-line coding, we identified 4 main themes including (1) separation and loss; (2) COVID-19 confusion, despair, and abandonment; (3) stress and exhaustion exacerbation; and (4) unpaid sacrifices by formal care providers.ConclusionsThere is an imminent need for governments to rethink using a one-size-fits-all response to COVID-19 policy and use a collaborative approach to support people with dementia. Collaboration and more evidence-informed research are essential to reducing COVID-19 mortality and improving the quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on people with dementia
There is an imminent need for governments to rethink using a one-size-fits-all response to COVID-19 policy and use a collaborative approach to support people with dementia
The purpose of this study is to use Twitter to understand the COVID-19 experiences of people with dementia and their care partners
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on people with dementia. In Canada, almost two-thirds of all COVID-19–related deaths have been people with dementia [1]. In the United Kingdom, 50% of COVID-19–related deaths in care homes have been people with dementia [2]. In comparison to other groups, people with dementia are among the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic [3]. Social isolation measures (eg, stay-at-home orders, visitation bans, and lockdowns in care facilities) from COVID-19 may increase the risk of hospitalization and mortality for people with dementia [6]. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with dementia in numerous ways. There is a paucity of research on the COVID-19 impact on people with dementia and their care partners
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