As health care professionals and family members, we know that many patients died alone in healthcare settings during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. An extensive literature review confirms this as well, and concludes that visiting restrictions during the pandemic had negative impacts on patients and their loved ones.

There is a right to not die alone contained in the Dying Patient’s Bill of Rights; however, it happened time and time again during the early months of this pandemic when countless people in long-term care settings and hospitals were reported to be isolated during their final hours of life. No one should die alone! What can we learn from this experience to try to minimize this from happening during the next pandemic?

This study will explore the state of the literature on the status and impact of visitor restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, in conjunction with a survey of a defined sample of practicing registered nurses in the United States. This study seeks to respond to the primary research question of how patients’/family members’ end-of-life needs can be met in a pandemic when hospital visitation is severely limited or non-existent? There are for (4) related sub-questions concerning effective direct and indirect methods of family presence.

The literature concludes that countless people were isolated without family presence during their final hours of life during the first six months of COVID-19. The initial survey process is currently underway, with the identification and analysis of recommendations for improvement in early 2023.

The goal of this study is to develop best practices for meeting the end-of-life needs of hospitalized patients and their loved ones during a pandemic, so that to the extent possible, no one dies alone.