Kaufmann Julia, Gould Odette, Lloyd Vett
Department of Psychology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada.
Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada.
J Patient Exp. 2023 Jan 23;10:23743735231151770. doi: 10.1177/23743735231151770. eCollection 2023.
The goal of this study was to explore the experiences of individuals seeking care for long COVID-19 in the Canadian healthcare system. Recorded virtual interviews were carried out with 8 participants and narrative analysis was used to examine the stories produced and identify the central narratives that defined participants' experiences. Care-seeking experiences were characterized by (1) often debilitating multi-system symptoms for which little information about prognosis was available and no effective treatments were provided, (2) compounded by the frustration of trying to convince family, friends, and health care practitioners of the legitimacy of their illness, (3) access to medical care was severely limited by the global pandemic and associated higher thresholds for care, (4) like others suffering from complex, multi-system conditions, people with long COVID are often struggling with a health-care system ill-suited for dealing with long-term and possibly chronic conditions. To make system-level improvements to better serve those with chronic conditions, it is critical that we understand the care-seeking experiences of chronic illness patients, including the unique experiences of those with long COVID.
本研究的目的是探讨在加拿大医疗保健系统中寻求长期新冠治疗的个人的经历。对8名参与者进行了记录式虚拟访谈，并采用叙事分析方法来审视所产生的故事，并确定界定参与者经历的核心叙事。寻求治疗的经历具有以下特点：（1）多系统症状往往使人虚弱，关于预后的信息很少，也没有提供有效的治疗方法；（2）试图让家人、朋友和医疗从业者相信其疾病的合理性而产生的挫败感加剧了这种情况；（3）全球大流行和相关的更高护理门槛严重限制了获得医疗护理的机会；（4）与其他患有复杂多系统疾病的人一样，长期新冠患者常常在一个不适合处理长期和可能的慢性疾病的医疗保健系统中挣扎。为了在系统层面进行改进以更好地服务慢性病患者，我们必须了解慢性病患者的寻求治疗经历，包括长期新冠患者的独特经历。
