The impact of limiting family visits in long-term care during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia

Abstract

British Columbia restricted external visitation in long-term care (LTC) facilities to reduce risk of transmission during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including access to family. However, family involvement plays an integral role in maintaining residents’ wellbeing and contributing to care in LTC. After 4 months of banning non-essential visits, British Columbia now allows social visits with strict stipulations. These limits on family access has damaging predicted impact on residents’ physical and mental health and reduced workload capacity of LTC facilities. There is a need to monitor and optimize our approach to balancing infection safety and quality of life.