Social support, distress and well-being in individuals experiencing Long-COVID: a cross-sectional survey study.
BMJ Open
; 13(3): e067166, 2023 03 22.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2269991
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Increasingly attention of the COVID-19 pandemic is directed towards its long-term effects, also known as Long-COVID. So far, Long-COVID was examined mainly from a medical perspective, leaving psychosocial effects of Long-COVID understudied. The present study advances the current literature by examining social support in the context of Long-COVID. The study not only examines received support reported by individuals with Long-COVID, but also provided support reported by relatives of individuals with Long-COVID.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.SETTING:
The study was conducted from June to October 2021 in Austria, Germany and the German-speaking part of Switzerland.PARTICIPANTS:
We examined 256 individuals with Long-COVID (MAge=45.05 years, 90.2% women) and 50 relatives of individuals with Long-COVID (MAge=48.34 years, 66.1% female) in two separate online surveys, assessing social support, well-being and distress. PRIMARY OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Primary outcomes were positive and negative affect, anxiety and depressive symptoms and perceived stress.RESULTS:
For individuals with Long-COVID, receiving emotional support was related to higher well-being (positive affect b=0.29, p<0.01; negative affect b=-0.31, p<0.05) and less distress (anxiety b=-1.45, p<0.01; depressive symptoms b=-1.04, p<0.05; perceived stress b=-0.21, p<0.05) but no effects emerged for receiving practical support. For relatives of individuals with Long-COVID, providing emotional support was only related to lower depressive symptoms (b=-2.57, p<0.05). Again, provided practical support was unrelated to the outcomes considered.CONCLUSIONS:
Emotional support is likely to play an important role in well-being and distress of patients and relatives, whereas practical support does not seem to make a difference. Future research should clarify under what conditions different kinds of support unfold their positive effects on well-being and distress in the context of Long-COVID.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2022-067166
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