Psychological impacts and online interventions of social isolation amongst older adults during COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

AIM

To summarise the psychological impacts of social isolation amongst older adults during COVID-19 and review the benefits and limitations of online interventions used to combat social isolation.

DESIGN

A scoping review was performed.

DATA SOURCES

A systematic search was performed from October 2020 to January 2021 in seven electronic databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), PubMed, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. A hand search of the reference lists of included papers and WHO publications was performed. Grey literature search was carried out from Scopus, ProQuest Dissertation and Google Scholar.

REVIEW METHODS

Studies were screened, appraised and extracted independently by two reviewers. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise data, which were presented in a descriptive manner and organised into categories and themes.

RESULTS

Totally, 33 studies were included. Four themes and eight sub-themes emerged: (1) negative impacts and experiences of older adults during social isolation, (2) adopting coping behaviours in the midst of COVID-19, (3) online interventions to combat the consequences of social isolation, (4) barriers to online intervention.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an emotional toll on older adults' psychological wellbeing and has highlighted the untapped strengths of older adults facing isolation. Online interventions, which could be a new normal in the COVID era, were beneficial in combating social isolation. Strategies by various stakeholders were recommended to tackle the barriers of online interventions.

IMPACT

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in progress, this review provides insights on the psychological impacts of social isolation amongst older adults. Nurses in the community and long-term care facilities could adopt strategies and online intervention to better support the older adults, contribute to a stronger COVID-19 response and support system, and an overall better road to recovery from this crisis.

Perspectives of Nurse Preceptors on a Web-based Clinical Pedagogy Program and Clinical Teaching: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Nurse preceptors are key stakeholders in providing quality clinical education. The study aims to explore the perspectives of nurse preceptors on a Web-based clinical pedagogy program and clinical teaching. A descriptive qualitative design was adopted. The program was made accessible to the nurse preceptors who were assigned nursing students from July 2019 to June 2020. Upon completion of clinical teaching, focus group discussions were conducted and transcribed into verbatim. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. A total of 19 nurse preceptors participated in four focus group discussions. Five themes and 11 sub-themes emerged: 1) Undergoing the process of self-awareness and development; 2) Mastering newly acquired skills to refine own teaching approach; 3) Implementing consistent evaluation and constructive feedback; 4) Dual roles and responsibilities of preceptor; 5) Benefits and barriers of the program. This study highlighted the knowledge and skills preceptors gained through the program which gave them newfound confidence and facilitated their clinical teaching and evaluation. As the shift towards online learning becomes more apparent, web-based learning can be a useful platform for professional development of nurse preceptors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.