Visiting Policies of Hospice Wards during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Environmental Scan in Taiwan
Autor: | Ming-Hwai Lin, Tzeng Ji Chen, Shinn Jang Hwang, Hsiao-Wen Lee, Ya Chuan Hsu, Li Fang Chou, Ya-An Liu |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Pneumonia Viral Taiwan Terminally ill lcsh:Medicine visitors to patients Article 03 medical and health sciences Betacoronavirus 0302 clinical medicine Surveys and Questionnaires Health care Pandemic Patients' Rooms Infection control Medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Pandemics Infection Control hospices 030504 nursing Health professionals business.industry SARS-CoV-2 lcsh:R Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health COVID-19 Quarter (United States coin) Organizational Policy Family medicine Health Care Surveys Female 0305 other medical science business Coronavirus Infections Disease transmission severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 |
Zdroj: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 17, Iss 2857, p 2857 (2020) Volume 17 Issue 8 |
ISSN: | 1660-4601 |
Popis: | During an epidemic, almost all healthcare facilities restrict the visiting of patients to prevent disease transmission. For hospices with terminally ill patients, the trade-off between compassion and infection control becomes a difficult decision. This study aimed to survey the changes in visiting policy for all 76 hospice wards in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The altered visiting policies were assessed by the number of visitors per patient allowed at one time, the daily number of visiting slots, the number of hours open daily, and requisites for hospice ward entry. The differences in visiting policies between hospice wards and ordinary wards were also investigated. Data were collected by reviewing the official website of each hospital and were supplemented by phone calls in cases where no information was posted on the website. One quarter (n = 20) of hospice wards had different visiting policies to those of ordinary wards in the same hospital. Only one hospice ward operated an open policy, and in contrast, nine (11.8%) stopped visits entirely. Among the 67 hospice wards that allowed visiting, at most, two visitors at one time per patient were allowed in 46 (68.6%), one visiting time daily was allowed in 32 (47.8%), one hour of visiting per day was allowed in 29 (43.3%), and checking of identity and travel history was carried out in 12 wards (17.9%). During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all hospice wards in Taiwan changed their visiting policies, but the degree of restriction varied. Further studies could measure the impacts of visiting policy changes on patients and healthcare professionals. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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