Dana Hansen, Ph.D., APRN, ACHPN, Amy Petrinec, Ph.D., RN, and Tracey Motter, DNP, RN, researchers from Kent State College of Nursing, along with Maureen Keeley, Ph.D., Texas State, have developed a website to offer information, support via blog participation and research opportunities for family caregivers of those touched by a serious or critical illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit https://bit.ly/3fRWsw4 to learn more. All research is IRB approval from the Kent State University IRB.
The following research opportunities can be found on the website:
- Please consider participating in a family caregiver study about your mental and physical health if your loved one has been in an intensive care unit (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A small monetary gift is offered as a thank you for completing the survey. The survey may be found by following this link: family caregiver study
- We also have a caregiver registry. Our research relies on volunteers like yourself who are willing to share their caregiving experiences. By participating in our registry, you agree to be contacted periodically about various research opportunities. We are interested in helping family caregivers 1) who connect with their loved ones who use social media to tell their illness story during a serious illness; 2) who have cared for adults who are in intensive care units (ICUs) or long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) or have recently experienced an ICU/LTACH stay, 3) who are adolescents with a parent in hospice; and/or 4) who wish to participate in research about spirituality and spiritual uncertainty.
To enroll in the caregiver registry, please click on this link: https://www.kent.edu/caregiver
Finally, the website offers a link to a blog. As a family caregiver, you can use this blog to share your experiences while a loved one with a serious illness or COVID-19 has been separated from you. The blog community is a way to provide and garnish support during these difficult times. Our blog may be found at https://nursing.kent.edu/resiliency/