Family Members' Experiences of Video Calling with Relatives in Aged Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interview Study (Preprint)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic prevented family members from visiting their relatives in aged care due to lockdowns and social distancing. Because of this situation, many people became reliant on video calls to see their relatives living in care. However, video calls can be considered by some as being a poor substitute for in-person visits, and there is a dearth of research on family members’ experiences with video calling into aged care during the pandemic. It is important to understand experiences with video calling during COVID-19 to ensure effective use of this technology for aged care communication in the future.

The aim of this study was to understand people’s experiences of using video calls with relatives in aged care during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on benefits and challenges that people experienced.

We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 adults from the general population. All had been using video calls to communicate with relatives living in aged care during the pandemic. Data was analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.

Our analysis revealed that family members gained 6 benefits from using video calls. Specifically, video calls were beneficial because they: enabled ongoing relationship maintenance, permitted increased frequency of contact, allowed families to monitor their relatives’ health and wellbeing, supported peace of mind and reassurance, provided access to non-verbal cues, and alleviated the need for masks during conversation. Participants discussed 5 challenges: a lack of technology infrastructure in care homes, the need for advance scheduling, residents’ unfamiliarity with video calling, the scarcity of staff support, and residents’ health conditions.

This study suggests that, during restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, video calls were an essential resource for enabling family members to continue participating in the care of their relatives, especially when face to face visits were not possible. The benefits gained from using video calls illustrate their value for families and residents during times of mandatory isolation, and suggest that they can complement face-to-face visits at other times. However, there is a need for policy change and greater institutional support to provide better technology infrastructure for video calling in aged care, especially during disease outbreaks that require mandatory isolation. This study also reveals a need for video calling systems that are designed for the aged care context.