부산대학교 도서관

While the restrictions on visitation as a countermeasure against the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to infection prevention and control, they also impose a medical and psychological burden on patients, their families, and healthcare workers. To clarify the impact of visitor restrictions and to develop an improvement plan, we interviewed 11 medical staff members and 10 patients or their family members. The restrictions on visitation were generally accepted by both groups and there were no major complaints. Although medical explanation became more difficult because phone calls were primarily used, flexible measures were taken such as face-to-face explanations at outpatient wards when needed or making frequent contact with a patient’s family. However, there were some cases in which difficulty was encountered in the coordination of discharge support because family members could not see the patient’s condition and therefore could not imagine the patient’s lifestyle after discharge. Virtual visits using tablets were problematic in that communicating with elderly patients with hearing loss was difficult and because there was an extra burden on healthcare professionals of having to coordinate the time of contact. To solve the above problems and utilize the medical resources effectively, a review of visitation policy and consideration of alternative methods is a pressing issue.