COVID-19’s Non-visitor Policy and Its Impact on Social Isolation of Older Adults in Ontario Long-Term Care Homes: A Scoping Review

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide implemented strict non-visitor policies in long-term care (LTC) homes. As a result, older adults were often confined to their rooms and only “essential visitors” were allowed. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the goal was to examine the impact visitor restrictions had on social isolation of older adults in LTC homes in Ontario (Canada) as well as to make recommendations for further research, policy, and practice. Twenty-five articles that met inclusion criteria were reviewed. Themes identified included the impact visitor restrictions had on older adults residing in LTC as well as their ethical and legal implications. Pandemic policies should be assessed at the individual level with family members essential to resident’s care. Information and communication technology (ICT) was seen as crucial to support social connectedness in later life. While written from a Canadian perspective, implications reach globally.