Brinkmann Melanie, Stolz Maike, Herr Annika, Herrmann-Lingen Christoph, Koch Imke, Müller Christiane, Müller Frank, Sekanina Uta, Stahmeyer Jona Theodor, de Zwaan Martina, Krauth Christian, Schneider Nils
Institute for General Practice and Palliative Care, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Institute for Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
PLoS One. 2024 Dec 31;19(12):e0316335. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316335. eCollection 2024.
A large number of individuals suffer from post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), characterised by persistent symptoms following a SARS-CoV-2 infection with an impact on daily personal and professional activities. This study aims at examining which (health) care services are used by PCC patients in the German federal state of Lower Saxony, and how these patients manage their condition. The perspectives of patients, informal caregivers and general practitioners (GPs) will be considered.
The study will employ a mixed methods design. Patients' perspective will be evaluated through an online survey of: (1) 21,000 adult individuals with a PCC diagnosis (ICD10 U09.9!) in their statutory health insurance claims data in 2022 ("AOK survey") and (2) a self-selected sample of adult individuals with a proven SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2023 and persistent symptoms ("public survey"). Additional data sources will be claims data (n = 27,275) and 25-30 semi-structured interviews. Informal caregivers' perspective will be collected through an online survey and semi-structured interviews. GPs' perspective will be evaluated through four focus groups involving six to eight participants each and an online survey of all registered and practicing GPs in Lower Saxony (approximately 5,000). All survey data will be descriptively analysed. In addition, correlation analyses and multivariable regression analyses will be conducted, for example on factors influencing affected individuals' use of medical services. Interview and focus group data will be subjected to qualitative content analysis. A health economic analysis will be used to determine the costs of PCC to health care payers, patients and society. The project will conclude with an expert workshop to discuss the results and derive recommendations.
The results of the study will provide a multidimensional description of the (health) care situation and needs of patients with PCC, and derive recommendations for improving health care.
The VePoKaP study is registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00032846).
大量个体患有新冠后状况（PCC），其特征为感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）后出现持续症状，对日常个人和职业活动产生影响。本研究旨在调查德国下萨克森州PCC患者使用了哪些（医疗）服务，以及这些患者如何应对自身状况。研究将考虑患者、非正式照护者和全科医生（GP）的观点。
本研究将采用混合方法设计。将通过在线调查评估患者的观点：（1）对2022年法定健康保险理赔数据中诊断为PCC（国际疾病分类第十版U09.9！）的21,000名成年个体进行调查（“AOK调查”），以及（2）对2023年确诊感染SARS-CoV-2且有持续症状的成年个体进行自我选择抽样调查（“公众调查”）。其他数据来源将包括理赔数据（n = 27,275）和25 - 30次半结构化访谈。将通过在线调查和半结构化访谈收集非正式照护者的观点。将通过四个焦点小组对全科医生的观点进行评估，每个焦点小组有六至八名参与者，并对下萨克森州所有注册和执业的全科医生（约5,000名）进行在线调查。所有调查数据将进行描述性分析。此外，将进行相关性分析和多变量回归分析，例如分析影响受影响个体使用医疗服务的因素。访谈和焦点小组数据将进行定性内容分析。将使用健康经济分析来确定PCC给医疗支付方、患者和社会带来的成本。该项目将以专家研讨会结束，以讨论研究结果并得出建议。
本研究结果将对PCC患者的（医疗）护理情况和需求进行多维度描述，并得出改善医疗护理的建议。
VePoKaP研究已在德国临床试验注册中心（DRKS00032846）注册。
