Characterizing the COVID-19 Illness Experience to Inform the Study of Post-acute Sequelae and Recovery.
Int J Behav Med
; 29(5): 610-623, 2022 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1712359
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
There is an urgent need to fully understand the impact of variable COVID-19 experiences and the optimal management of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We characterized the variability in the acute illness experience and ongoing recovery process from participants in a COVID-19 recovery cohort study in Northern California in 2020.METHOD:
We completed 24 semi-structured in-depth interviews with adults with confirmed positive SARV-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification test result, had recovered or were recovering from acute infection, and underwent serial evaluations. We purposefully sampled English- and Spanish-speaking adults with asymptomatic, mild, and severe symptomatic infection, including those who were hospitalized and those with HIV co-infection. We used a thematic analysis to analyze interviews and identify salient themes.RESULTS:
After integrating the thematic analysis with clinical data, we identified key themes (1) across symptom profiles and severity, experiencing COVID-19 was associated with psychological distress; (2) symptomatic infection carried uncertainty in symptom presentation and ongoing recovery (e.g., long COVID); and (3) health information-seeking behavior was facilitated by access to medical care and uncertainty with the recovery process.CONCLUSION:
Our data informs the emerging field of "long COVID" research and shows a need to provide information and continuous support to persons with post-acute sequelae to ensure they feel secure along the path to recovery.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Behav Med
Journal subject:
Behavioral Sciences
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12529-021-10045-7
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