Using Twitter to understand the COVID-19 experiences of people living with dementia.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nThe COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with dementia in numerous ways. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the COVID-19 impact on people with dementia and their care partners.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE\nUsing Twitter, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of COVID-19 of people living with dementia and their care partners.\n\n\nMETHODS\nWe collected tweets on COVID-19 and dementia using the GetOldTweets application in Python from February 15 to September 7, 2020. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the tweets.\n\n\nRESULTS\nFrom the 5,063 tweets analyzed with line by line coding, we identified four main themes including: i) separation and loss; ii) COVID confusion, despair, and abandonment; iii) stress and exhaustion exacerbation; and iv) unpaid sacrifices by formal care providers.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nThere is an imminent need for governments to rethink using a one-size-fits-all response to COVID-19 policy and use a collaborative approach to support people with dementia. Collaboration and more evidence-informed research are essential to reducing COVID-19 mortality and improving the quality of lives for people with dementia and their care partners.\n\n\nCLINICALTRIAL\nNot Applicable.