La atención paliativa en las residencias durante la pandemia COVID-19 (o cuando el coronavirus llamó a la puerta del ámbito más vulnerable del sistema)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been very aggressive in nursing homes, where mortality accounts for more than 50% of all deaths from this disease. But the physical and emotional repercussions go far beyond these data, both for residents and their families, and for professionals. Firstly, we review the impact of the pandemic in nursing homes based on a review of the existing literature, the data available in Spain, and the experience lived by some of these professionals. Secondly, some proposals developed by organizations with the objective of providing a response to this crisis from the palliative care perspective are described. Finally, and based on the published evidence and their own experience, the authors provide a series of specific and pragmatic recommendations on palliative care in nursing homes for the short, medium and long term.