Visiting in disguise: Analysis of inpatients companions in the time of COVID-19

• Published in: Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
• Main Authors: Hung, Shih-Hsin, Kuo, Shu-Chen, Fen, Jun-Jeng, Tseng, Kuan-Jui, Sun, Ying-Chou, Ming, Jin-Lain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 07.09.2020
• ISSN: 1728-7731

As outbreak of COVID-19 infection, on April 03, 2020, it is stipulated that the number of inpatient companions is limited to one in Taiwan. All companions are required to register their real personal data with 14 days of travel history, occupation, contact history and cluster history. We would like to evaluate the impact of the new regulations to the accompanying and visiting culture in Taiwan, via analyzing the appearance and characteristics of inpatients companions in this period. Using intelligent technology, we designed a novel system in managing the inpatients companions (InPatients Companions Management System, IPCMS), and the IPCMS was used to collect data about characteristics of inpatients and companions between April 27 and May 3, 2020. The database is built using MySQL software. Microsoft Excel 2016 and SPSS version 20.0 statistical software were used for data analysis, including the basic data of the companions, differential analysis of companians' gender, person-days and cumulative time, differential analysis of accompaniment-patient relationship, and frequency of accompaniment and cumulative hours. During study period, daily inpatient admissions ranged from 2242-2514, the number of companions per day ranged from 2048-2293, and the number of companions for one inpatient is 1-9 per day, with an average of 1.20-1.26. The companions were mostly family members, and most of them were the inpatients' children (32.9%), and spouse (26.13%). More females than males were noted in all categories of companionship with statistical significance. The data got in this study could be an important basis for the transformation and reform of the companions culture in Taiwan's hospitals, and will also provide a glimpse into the attitudes and culture of companions who have long been ignorant and neglected. The experience gained in our IPCMS could also serve as a reference for other hospitals in Taiwan and worldwide.