Cheese. Tulips. Tall people. Beer. The Dutch are well-known for many great things. 

For at least a while, however, their reputation for medical research isn’t going to be one of them.  Ask just about any McKnight’s Long-Term Care News reader.

On Tuesday, we reported findings of a new Dutch study appearing in the respected medical journal JAMDA. The headline alone brought howls of scorn and disbelief: “Initial COVID-19 lockdown had no ‘clinically relevant negative effects’ on residents’ mood, behavior, social function: study.”

A weary reading public rebelled. Had these researchers ever been in a long-term care facility? they wondered. How could McKnight’s endorse this kind of lunacy? they demanded. And so on.

First of all, the McKnight’s article was spot-on. Researchers, supported by a major medical center in the Netherlands, used data from more than 2,600 residents at 42 facilities to come to the “no relevant” clinical effects conclusion.

Before we go any further, however, caregivers should take to heart about at least one thing about the findings: Researchers said caregivers’ efforts may be the reason for the apparent lack of negative outcomes and effects. Score one for the good guys.

As always with studies and news articles, however, it pays to read fully. The first word in our article’s headline is vital. The period under the microscope was only March to May 2020. I think some of my college fraternity brothers proved a person could go that long without showering. (Nevermind the damaged attitudes and mental well-being of those around them it produced.)

I’ll be curious to see just how the research community tries to leverage these snapshot findings. After all, springing to the front of the pack at the start of a 26.2-mile marathon might represent a temporary, illusory victory. But it doesn’t say much about the final outcome, especially with this “race” adding extra miles even as you read this.

The funny thing is, my research Thursday found similar results from a small Canadian study that extended a month longer into the pandemic. The lockdown “did not have a statistically significant effect on rates of depression, delirium or behavioral problems,” researchers found in that one.

A major plank of that study, which was published in October 2020, was to point out the benefit of acts such as window visits and video calls. Having juggled in front of patient windows in 2020 and partaken in more than a few window visits and video calls myself, I can confirm their value.

But that is far from saying everything was hunky-dory on the medical front. 

One suspects that if the researchers in Holland examined behavior and mental health outcomes over a longer period of time, the cumulative effects would paint a much more somber picture. Some 28 months into the pandemic, weary caregivers don’t want to hear insulated desk jockeys telling them isolation, closed dining areas and restricted personal interaction don’t take their negative toll on patients.

My goal is to report back to you on what surely must be outstanding nuances of this European study. I want to get key questions answered by these Dutch researchers — preferably via in-person interviews. (Please, boss?) 

Let me go, and I’ll bring back not only answers, but also some Gouda, a bundle or two of tulips and a case of fresh Heineken.

James M. Berklan is McKnight’s Executive Editor.

Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.