Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Front Public Health. 2023 Mar 9;11:1155193. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1155193. eCollection 2023.
Many people experience persistent or new-onset symptoms such as fatigue or cognitive problems after an acute infection with COVID-19. This phenomenon, known as long COVID, impacts physical and mental wellbeing, and may affect perceived quality of life and occupational perspectives likewise. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how people with long COVID experience health-related restrictions in their daily life and their occupational situation, and to identify key challenges they face.
Guided qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 people with long COVID. The interviews were transcribed according to Dresing/Pehl and Kuckartz and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Afterward, a systematic comparison of the data and a reflection under consideration of lifeworld-theoretical approaches (Berger and Luckmann) were carried out.
The interviews revealed that many participants have severe symptoms which strongly impair them in perform daily and work-related activities, and in their personal interests. Many interviewees already reach their stress limit during routine household activities or childcare. Of the 25 participants, 19 experienced limitations in pursuing leisure activities, and 10 of the 23 interviewees with jobs reported being on sick leave for several months. Several respondents who had vocational reintegration are still affected by ongoing symptoms that affect their work performance considerably. This leads to uncertainty, role conflicts, a decline in social contacts, and decreased incomes, which contribute to an impairment in their quality of life.
This study shows the huge need for specific support for people with long COVID in different areas of life. To prevent people with long COVID from finding themselves in social and economic precarity, decision-makers should develop strategies to systematically support them in their sustainable reintegration into the workforce. The focus should be on creating long COVID-sensitive workplaces, compensating for decreased incomes, and improving access to relief services such as vocational reintegration. We argue, that a shift of perspectives is necessary and that long COVID should be considered rather as a "social disease" with considerably impairments in the social life of those affected.
The study is registered in the German register for clinical trials (DRKS00026007).
许多人在感染 COVID-19 后会出现持续或新出现的症状，如疲劳或认知问题。这种现象被称为长新冠，会影响身心健康，同样可能影响到感知的生活质量和职业前景。本研究旨在更深入地了解长新冠患者在日常生活中如何体验与健康相关的限制以及他们的职业状况，并确定他们面临的主要挑战。
对 25 名长新冠患者进行了指导性的定性访谈。访谈根据 Dresing/Pehl 和 Kuckartz 进行了转录，并使用定性内容分析进行了分析。之后，对数据进行了系统比较，并在考虑生活世界理论方法（Berger 和 Luckmann）的情况下进行了反思。
访谈结果显示，许多参与者的症状严重，严重影响了他们的日常和工作相关活动以及个人兴趣。许多受访者在进行日常家务或照顾孩子的活动时已经达到了压力极限。在 25 名参与者中，有 19 名参与者在从事休闲活动时受到限制，在 23 名有工作的受访者中，有 10 名请了几个月病假。几名已经重新融入职业生活的受访者仍受到持续症状的影响，这些症状对他们的工作表现有很大影响。这导致了不确定性、角色冲突、社会联系减少和收入下降，从而影响了他们的生活质量。
本研究表明，长新冠患者在生活的不同领域需要得到具体的支持。为了防止长新冠患者陷入社会和经济困境，决策者应制定战略，有系统地支持他们可持续地重新融入劳动力市场。重点应放在创造对长新冠敏感的工作场所、弥补收入减少以及改善获得职业再融入等救济服务的机会。我们认为，需要转变观点，将长新冠视为一种“社会疾病”，对患者的社会生活造成了相当大的影响。
该研究在德国临床试验注册处（DRKS00026007）注册。
