COVID-19: Experiences of Social Workers Supporting Older Adults With Dementia in Nigeria.

Autor:	Oyinlola O; School of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.; Medical Social Services Department, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria., Mahmoud K; Center for Innovation in Social Science, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Adeoti AB; Department of Social Work, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria., Abiodun AA; Department of Social Work, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing [Inquiry] 2024 Jan-Dec; Vol. 61, pp. 469580241239844.
DOI:	10.1177/00469580241239844
Abstrakt:	Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous public health protocols were instituted by government agencies to safeguard individuals with dementia, their family caregivers, and formal care providers. While these preventive measures were implemented with good intentions, they inadvertently imposed significant challenges on medical social workers in Nigeria. This paper explored the experiences of medical social workers caring for people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Twenty-six medical social workers from 6 government hospitals in Southwestern Nigeria participated in an in-depth interview. The research reveals 3 pivotal aspects: Firstly, the escalating demands within the work environment, where medical social workers grapple with the intricate task of conveying sensitive information about dementia diagnosis and COVID-19 prevention protocol, managing expectations regarding dementia diagnoses, and navigating resource constraints for individuals with dementia during the pandemic. Secondly, discernible impacts on the work climate and interprofessional relationships shed light on the challenges these professionals face in collaborating with other healthcare providers. Lastly, the reverberations on social workers' personal lives underscore the pandemic's toll on their well-being. Thus, the findings underscore the need for proactive measures to equip medical social workers to face the distinctive challenges in dementia care during future pandemics. Recognizing the potential resurgence of global health crises, the research highlights the need for strategic preparedness to mitigate the impact of future pandemics on the well-being of individuals with dementia and the professionals dedicated to their care. Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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