Publication Date
2-1-2022
Journal
Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open
DOI
10.1002/emp2.12622
PMID
35079730
PMCID
PMC8776041
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
1-20-2022
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
COVID‐19, dementia, disability, end‐of‐life, health disparities, older adults, visitor policy
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To characterize the national distribution of COVID-19 hospital and emergency department visitor restriction policies across the United States, focusing on patients with cognitive or physical impairment or receiving end-of-life care.
METHODS: Cross-sectional study of visitor policies and exceptions, using a nationally representative random sample of EDs and hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, by trained study investigators using standardized instrument.
RESULTS: Of the 352 hospitals studied, 326 (93%) had a COVID-19 hospital-wide visitor restriction policy and 164 (47%) also had an ED-specific policy. Hospital-wide policies were more prevalent at academic than non-academic (96% vs 90%;
CONCLUSION: Although the benefits of visitor policies towards curbing COVID-19 transmission had not been firmly established, such policies were widespread among US hospitals. Exceptions that permitted family or other caregivers for patients with cognitive or physical impairments or receiving end-of-life care were predominantly lacking, as were policies in non-English languages.
Included in
Cognition and Perception Commons, COVID-19 Commons, Emergency Medicine Commons, Epidemiology Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Patient Safety Commons
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