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. 2021 Sep 12:7:23337214211041800.
doi: 10.1177/23337214211041800. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Reignites the Need for Person-Centered Gerontological Approach

Pamela A Saunders  1 , Tara McMullen  1 , Sonya Barsness  1 , Andrew Carle  1 , Gay Powell Hanna  1
Affiliations

The COVID-19 Pandemic Reignites the Need for Person-Centered Gerontological Approach

Pamela A Saunders et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

The national response to the COVID-19 pandemic pressed gerontologists to reflect, redesign, and reform services supporting older adults. Efforts to isolate a peer cohort to stabilize and maintain a standard of health had adverse outcomes and added pressure conflicting with autonomy and individual desires. In this, person-centered care emerges as a meaningful archetype to address dignity and independence. This article presents views from academics and practitioners across an interdisciplinary spectrum, arising from a webinar hosted by Georgetown University Program in Aging & Health. A description of personhood as an extension of the humanities is followed by a robust discussion of safety and autonomy for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine the necessary commute between critical gerontological theory and the practice of humanistic gerontology. Further, this article disentangles humanism and person-centered care to balance autonomy and safety for older adults in congregate living situations and focuses on specific populations: people with dementia and their care partners. Discussion on the importance of person-centered policy development in a public health pandemic is also explored. The article concludes with a call to action for the adoption of a comprehensive person-centered care model across the fields of gerontology and geriatric medicine.

Keywords: COVID-19; autonomy; humanities and arts; long-term care; person centered care; person-centeredness; policy; public health emergency.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Vision for humanistic person-centered gerontological model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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