key: cord-0792877-ub6gq5ko
authors: Renzi, Alessia; Verrusio, Walter; Messina, Maurizio; Gaj, Fabio
title: Psychological intervention with elderly people during the COVID‐19 pandemic: the experience of a nursing home in Italy
date: 2020-08-07
journal: Psychogeriatrics
DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12594
sha: 6dda1fe5d6cffb0e287b8993e9a14b4abfc73600
doc_id: 792877
cord_uid: ub6gq5ko

nan

service was usually provided. This choice was supported by the importance of maintaining routine habits for patients with cognitive impairments. The possibility to perform extra consultations was also introduced in order to contrast the risk of isolation and mood disorders and to support patients strained by the long period of social restrictions, especially in the case of quarantine in the personal room. The patients were invited to give their personal mobile phone numbers in order to be called by the psychologists at set times. The audio modality was the preferred one because it only requires a phone, that usually is owned by patients. However, patients who do not have a personal mobile phone or for which it was preferable to have video-consultation modality, it was possible to use a mobile phone or a tablet freely made available by the administration of the nursing home (sanitised before and after each usage). The video-consultation modality, especially those with the tablet, was particularly useful for patients with hearing loss who need to read lips for better understanding the communication, or for facilitating the recognition of the psychologist by patients with moderate/severe cognitive impairment. The video modality requires especially in the initial phase, help from healthcare personal of the nursing home. In order to perform also cognitive stimulations, crucial in elderly people, several training schedules were sent to the head nurse by email, printed and handed over to the patients they were addressed to. After that, the psychologist illustrated the exercises and in the next session the training was discussed and evaluated. The specific themes emerging during these sessions were interesting and associated with different degrees of cognitive functioning. Specifically, patients presenting deficits in short-term memory, showed problems in remembering that they were experiencing a global health emergency with consequent social limitations. The promotion of the space-time orientation has been crucial also for overcoming the feelings of being abandoned they were experiencing. Patients with a more preserved cognitive functioning, reported feelings of anxiety and fear for themselves and their loved ones that needed to be accepted and explored.

In our experience, despite some difficulties in using technology, the telematics psychological service has received great acceptability and appreciation by patients. During almost two months of this service, the 75% of patients usually benefinting of the psychological service were involved in the telematics intervention, thus showing a good feasibility. This result can be considered a success taking into account the specificity of the population we refer to; however, further data are needed to confirm its effectiveness.

A special thanks to the Council of "Casa di Riposo Ebraica di Roma", the President, the College of Auditors, the Commissioner of CRER, the General Director, and all healthcare professionals. Tablet devices were provided by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities which we sincerely thank.

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This research did not receive any financial support. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.