Video Calls as a Replacement for Family Visits During Lockdowns in Aged Care: Interview Study With Family Members

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Lockdowns in care homes restrict resident contact with family, impacting socioemotional well-being.
• Video calling offers a potential solution for maintaining family connections during infectious disease outbreaks.
• Understanding family experiences with video calls is crucial for optimizing its use in aged care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how family members utilized video calls to connect with relatives in aged care during pandemic lockdowns.
• To understand the benefits and challenges faced by families using video calling for aged care communication.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semistructured interviews with 18 adults who used video calls with aged care residents during lockdowns.
• Analyzed interview data using a 6-phase reflexive thematic analysis approach.
• Focused on usage patterns, perceived benefits, and encountered challenges of video calling.

Main Results:

• Video calling served as a vital medium for continuing family care, including social enrichment and health monitoring.
• It facilitated frequent contact, transmitted nonverbal cues, and bypassed mask-related communication barriers.
• Barriers included technological limitations, insufficient staff time, resident unfamiliarity with technology, and health conditions.

Conclusions:

• Video calls enabled continued family participation in aged care during COVID-19 restrictions.
• The technology's value in maintaining connections during lockdowns is evident, complementing in-person visits.
• Enhanced support and aged care-specific video calling systems are needed to improve future implementation.