ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2021
"Why Couldn't I Go in To See Him?" Bereaved Families' Perceptions of End-of-Life Communication During COVID-19.
Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of restricted family presence during the COVID-19 pandemic on critically ill patients, families, and critical care clinicians: a qualitative systematic review.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- The Effect of Hospital Visitor Policies on Patients, Their Visitors, and Health Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.The American journal of medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Stress among Families of Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: A Longitudinal Clinical Trial.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2023Trial
- Challenges faced by families of critically ill patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Patient education and counseling · 2022Trial
- Article
- A Mixed-Methods Study of End-of-Life Care in Assisted Living During the COVID-19 Pandemic: National Survey of Administrators and In-Depth Interviews With Bereaved Next of Kin.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Perspectives of Advance Care Planning for Latinos During COVID-19.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2025Article
- Video call program for intensive care patients and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective study.Saudi medical journal · 2025Article
- Exploring Video Calls and PTSD Symptoms in Family Members of Severe COVID-19 Patients Post-ICU Discharge: A Mixed-Methods Study.Nursing in critical care · 2025Article
- Loss and Grief Among Bereaved Family Members During COVID-19 in Brazil: A Grounded Theory Analysis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Announcements of Death During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Family Experiences.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Experiences of Communication and Working During the Covid-19 Pandemic Among Nursing Home Staff: A Qualitative Interview Study.Nursing open · 2025Article
- The Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Hospital Visitation Bans in the COVID-19 Era.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Perceptions of care and family support from patients and family caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study in Spain.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- How bereaved families conceptualise good care and communication in intensive care in South Australia.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Use of Hospice and End-of-Life Care Quality Among Medical Centers with High Versus Lower Specialist Palliative Care Reach Among People with Heart Failure: An Observational Study.Journal of palliative medicine · 2024Observational
- Making space for grief: The impact of remembrance programs for pediatric healthcare providers.Palliative & supportive care · 2024Article
- Caregiving in long-term care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.European geriatric medicine · 2024Article
- Family Experiences of Loss and Bereavement in Palliative Care Units during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Visiting Policies: A Worldwide Survey.Journal of pediatric intensive care · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in rapid changes to end-of-life care for hospitalized older adults and their families, including visitation restrictions. We examined bereaved families' perceptions of the quality of end-of-life communication among Veterans, families and staff in Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
designQualitative descriptive study using data from a survey of bereaved family members of Veterans administered from March-June 2020. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
settingVA medical centers with the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases during the study period.
participantsNext-of-kin of 328 Veterans who died in one of 37 VA medical centers' acute care, intensive care, nursing home, or hospice units. MEASUREMENTS: Open-ended survey questions (response rate = 37%) about family member's perceptions of: (1) communication with the healthcare team about the patient, (2) communication with the patient, and (3) use of remote communication technologies.
resultsBereaved family members identified contextual factors perceived to impact communication quality including: allowing family at the bedside when death is imminent, fears that the patient died alone, and overall perceptions of VA care. Characteristics of perceived high-quality communication included staff availability for remote communication and being kept informed of the patient's condition and plan of care. Low-quality communication with staff was perceived to result from limited access to staff, insufficient updates regarding the patient's condition, and when the family member was not consulted about care decision-making. Communication quality with the patient was facilitated or impeded by the availability and use of video-enabled remote technologies.
conclusionCommunication between patients, families, and healthcare teams at the end of life remains critically important during times of limited in-person visitation. Families report that low-quality communication causes profound distress that can affect the quality of dying and bereavement. Innovative strategies are needed to ensure that high-quality communication occurs despite pandemic-related visitation restrictions.
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