Open AccessProviding Opportunities for Meaningful Activities for Covid-19 Patients: A Community Response
Author(s) -
Emily Knowles,
Casey O’Donnell,
Amy Lynch,
Gretchen Snethen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
commonhealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2690-6910
DOI - 10.15367/ch.v1i3.418
Subject(s) - boredom , loneliness , isolation (microbiology) , psychosocial , feeling , context (archaeology) , anxiety , social isolation , medicine , covid-19 , recreation , nursing , psychology , psychiatry , disease , psychotherapist , social psychology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , paleontology , political science , law
Context: Patients hospitalized for Covid-19 are at high risk for experiencing isolation, boredom, anxiety, and depression. These psychosocial issues can contribute to poorer health outcomes.
Objective: The purpose of this project was to bridge the gap between patient needs and available resources: bringing supplies to the patients, such that they could participate in meaningful activities in the isolation of their rooms, with hopes of mitigating aspects of loneliness and boredom.
Case Report: This case study describes the activities of the occupational and recreational therapy academic programs initiated in order to resource supplies from the community in response to a request from the hospital. A carload of technology and non-technology activity resources were delivered to the hospital and distributed to patients. A treating physician provided an overview of the patient response.
Patient Experience: Staff reported fewer complaints of isolation and boredom following the delivery of resources. This also increased staff morale.
Conclusion: Providing resources patients can independently utilize may reduce feelings of isolation and boredom, which may improve health outcomes.