Reference no: EM133365318

Question: Social support, family caregiving, health professional care and end of life is different in the COVID 19 pandemic compared to other types of end-of-life care by many different factors. One of the biggest factors is that during the COVID 19 pandemic our health care system was not prepared for this hit. One article I found that interviewed health care professionals stated, "In the most critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the management of the end of life has been an extreme difficult task, especially in the emergency and intensive care departments. The high number of patients affected by COVID-19 quickly saturated these wards, which had very few resources available to cope with his new emergency. Many doctors and health professionals were suddenly forced to come out of their daily routine, and they have been overwhelmed by the deaths of so many patients, and it has been reported, in some cases, severe psychological, occupational, and physical consequences." (Sena & De Luca, 2022).

With the family support, health professional care, and family caregiving that comes with end-of-life care there is routine, protocols, and policies to withhold. Health care professionals are able to sit down with the patient's family and walk them through the steps and essentially be there emotionally for the family and the patient. However, with the COVID 19 pandemic the health care professional world was walking on new grounds.

There was no protocols or policies in place on how to handle this. No one understood COVID 19 well enough to explain to the family what was going to happen. Some people would be fine; others wouldn't. During this pandemic I was on both sides of this situation. I work at an Assisted Living for Seniors, and we were hit hard multiple times with the COVID 19 virus. We lost a lot of residents, and I had to be one of the masked faces that attempted to console family members who were unable to come visit unless we knew for certain it was the resident's time to go. On the other side of the fence, I, too, was a person who lost a family member to the virus, and it was always hot and cold. We were never sure what the outcome was going to be.

I think another major factor of the difference between other types of end-of-life care and the end-of-life care that came with the COVID 19 pandemic was the isolation. Typically, you are able to be at the bedside of your loved one, even have them at home or at the hospital. You are able to hold their hand and go through the process with them. A lot of people were unable to be with their loved one's during this time of the pandemic. Right at the beginning, I lost my uncle (not related to COVID), but when it came to say our goodbyes, only a few of us were able to go to the hospital due to exposure.