Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2025
Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
Functional Decline in Long-Term Care Homes in the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based
Bonaventure A Egbujie1, Luke A Turcotte2, George A Heckman3
1School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
We aimed to examine whether functional decline accelerated during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March to June 2020) for persons in long-term care facilities (LTCs) in Canada compared with the pre-pandemic period.
Design:
We conducted a population-based longitudinal study of persons receiving care in LTC homes in 5 Canadian provinces before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Setting And Participants:
Residents in 1326 LTC homes within the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Ontario between January 31, 2019, and June 30, 2020, with activities of daily living Hierarchy scale less than 6 and so, who still have potential for decline (6 being the worst of the 0-6 scale).
Methods:
We fit a generalized estimating equation model with adjustment for repeated measures to obtain the adjusted odds of functional decline between COVID period exposed and unexposed pre-pandemic residents.
Results:
LTC residents experienced slightly higher rates of functional decline during the first wave of the COVD-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period (23.3% vs 22.3%; P < .0001). The adjusted odds of functional decline were slightly greater during the pandemic (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.15-1.20). Likewise, residents receiving care in large homes (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.17-1.24) and urban-located LTC homes (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.17-1.23), were more likely to experience functional decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The odds of functional decline were also only significantly higher during the pandemic for LTC home residents in British Columbia (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11-1.23) and Ontario (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.21-1.29).
Conclusions And Implications:
This study provides evidence that the odds of experiencing functional decline were somewhat greater during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the need to maintain physical activity and improve nutrition among older adults during periods of stress. The information would be helpful to health administrators and decision-makers seeking to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures affected LTC residents' health outcomes.
More Related Videos
07:21Walk with Me Hybrid Virtual/In-Person Walking for Older Adults with Neurodegenerative Disease
Published on: June 16, 2023
04:13Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:29Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
01:25Continuing Care
01:19Restorative Care
01:28Current Trends in Nursing I
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...