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With challenge comes opportunity: Dementia care innovations made in senior living during COVID that will outlast the pandemic
Author(s) -
Doyle Patrick,
Smith Nathaniel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.057901
Subject(s) - psychosocial , dementia , socialization , pandemic , variety (cybernetics) , social isolation , aging in place , covid-19 , isolation (microbiology) , activities of daily living , gerontology , psychology , nursing , medicine , social psychology , psychiatry , disease , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Background Senior living communities are designed to foster social engagement and a sense of community between the residents. These settings offer a variety of care services and supports that are at their core relationship‐centered and focused optimizing the health and wellness of the residents. COVID brought major disruptions to this communal environment. Residents accustomed to daily socialization and engagement were physically separated from each other and the broader community. The impact of this isolation was immediate and had a significant impact on residents’ cognitive wellness. The pressing needs of COVID forced senior living to innovate in relation to the care of people living with dementia in these communities. We will discuss how innovations to process, infection control, technology, and design were used to keep residents safe from COVID and simultaneously maintain residents’ physical and psychosocial well‐being. Finally, we look to how these COVID‐induced innovations can re‐shape the future of dementia care in senior living.