Effects of Social Distancing on the Quality of Life and on the Emotional-affective Sphere of Caregivers and Patients Hospitalized in Residential Rehabilitation Departments: an Observational Study.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. This virus was identified in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, where it determined a state of health emergency proclaimed by China on January 30, 2020.

Since February 2020, Italy has been involved in the emergency of the COVID-19 infection, with devastating consequences for the health of the population and the economy of our country. As published by the Italian National Institute of Health, the starting date of the symptoms dates back to the end of January, the first case diagnosed dates back to 21 February 2020 while the first cases of home isolation date back to March 1st, 2020. On March 30, 2020, there were 101739 positive subjects and 11591 deaths (Civil Protection data).

According to data published by the World Health Organization, most people with COVID-19 develop a flu-like form, 14% develop a severe form that requires hospitalization and oxygen therapy and 5% require an ICU admission.

The emergency from Covid19 made it necessary to provide institutional social distancing conditions which resulted in rehabilitation departments being prohibited from visiting patients by family members and/or caregivers. This event, although necessary, led to the first moment of discomfort on the part of patients and family members; to overcome this reaction "technological" solutions were found, trying to give continuity to the contact between the patient and the family member through the use of video calls. Despite this, the COVID-19 emergency and the limitations resulting from social distancing likely have an impact on both patients and family members/caregivers that needs to be assessed.