Assessing Social Functioning During COVID-19 and Beyond: Tools and Considerations for Nursing Home Staff

Caroline Madrigal¹, Emily Bower², Kelsey Simons³, Suzanne M Gillespie⁴, Kimberly Van Orden³, Whitney L Mills⁵

Affiliations

¹ Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, School of Public Health Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. Electronic address: Caroline.Madrigal@VA.Gov.
² VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, USA; Pacific University, School of Graduate Psychology, Hillsboro, OR, USA.
³ University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of Psychiatry, Rochester, NY, USA.
⁴ Canandaigua VA Medical Center, VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Canandaigua, NY, USA; Division of Geriatrics/Aging, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
⁵ Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, School of Public Health Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

PMID: 34416152
PMCID: PMC8416161
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.022

Assessing Social Functioning During COVID-19 and Beyond: Tools and Considerations for Nursing Home Staff

Caroline Madrigal et al. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021 Oct.

. 2021 Oct;22(10):1989-1997.

doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.022. Epub 2021 Jul 30.

Authors

Caroline Madrigal¹, Emily Bower², Kelsey Simons³, Suzanne M Gillespie⁴, Kimberly Van Orden³, Whitney L Mills⁵

Affiliations

¹ Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, School of Public Health Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. Electronic address: Caroline.Madrigal@VA.Gov.
² VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, USA; Pacific University, School of Graduate Psychology, Hillsboro, OR, USA.
³ University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of Psychiatry, Rochester, NY, USA.
⁴ Canandaigua VA Medical Center, VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Canandaigua, NY, USA; Division of Geriatrics/Aging, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
⁵ Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, School of Public Health Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

PMID: 34416152
PMCID: PMC8416161
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.022

Abstract

Social functioning is defined as how a person operates in their unique social environment (ie, engagement in activities, connectedness with others, and contributions to social roles). Healthy social functioning is important for nursing home residents as they are at increased risk for loneliness and isolation. Social functioning has long been an underacknowledged aspect of nursing home residents' health, but now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, residents' risk for decreased social functioning is increased. Several reliable and well-validated tools are available to supplement routine care planning and delivery and track and improve changes in social functioning over time. The overarching aim of this article is to provide resources and recommendations for interdisciplinary team assessment related to social functioning for nursing home residents. We describe 2 domains of social functioning measures, care-planning measures and outcome measures, and provide recommendations for how to integrate said measures into practice. Healthy social functioning is needed to maintain nursing home residents' well-being and quality of life. Measures and recommendations outlined in this article can be used by nursing home staff to understand residents' social preferences and address social functioning during COVID-19 and beyond.

Keywords: COVID-19; Social functioning; assessment; nursing home residents; nursing homes; psychosocial health; social function; social health.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

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Assessing Social Functioning During COVID-19 and Beyond: Tools and Considerations for Nursing Home Staff

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Assessing Social Functioning During COVID-19 and Beyond: Tools and Considerations for Nursing Home Staff

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