Exploring COVID-19 patients’ experiences of psychological distress during the disease course: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging disease with many unknown clinical and therapeutic dimensions. Patients with COVID-19 experience a variety of psychological problems during the disease. Understanding patients’ mental condition and their distress during the disease is the first step to help these patients. So, the aim of this study was to explain COVID-19 patients’ experiences of psychological distress during the disease course. Methods The present qualitative research was conducted in Iran from April 2020 to April 2021 using the conventional content analysis method. The participants included patients with COVID-19, selected by the purposeful sampling method. Data was collected through 34 telephone and in-person interviews and analyzed based on the method proposed by Lundman and Graneheim. Results Qualitative data analysis led to the emergence of sources of psychological distress as the main theme as well as seven categories and seven sub-categories. The categories were the disease’s nature (the subcategories of disease’s unknown dimensions, and disease severity), the anxiety caused by preventive behaviors (the subcategories of quarantine, worry about transmitting the infection to others and obsessive thoughts related to disinfection measures), the inefficient management by the health system (the subcategories of poor health care condition and lack of spiritual care), death anxiety, stigma, anxiety after recovery, and sleep pattern disturbance. Conclusion Patients with COVID-19 experience great psychological distress during the acute phase of the disease or even long after recovery. It is suggested that psychological and spiritual counseling, as a key element of treatment and support for these patients, is provided to patients in the acute phase of the disease, as well as after recovery. National and local media should boost awareness about the disease as a dangerous yet preventable and curable infectious disease. People should follow health instructions and leave their seeing the disease as a taboo. Trial registration number Not applicable.

Experienced stigma and applied coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: a mixed-methods study

“…Across the globe, people infected with or recovered from SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) became a target of ostracism, humiliation, harassment and even violence. Studies from Pakistan, Uganda, Malaysia, India, China, Ghana, Iran and Brazil found that COVID-19 survivors and even their families were often rejected from social life or essential services and felt humiliated 12–21. COVID-19 survivors were blamed for the disease13 15 16 and perceived as a source of infection even after being cured,12 16 21 22 some reported finical hardship as a consequence 13 19 23.…”

“…Stereotyping was common,15 especially blaming the poor, labourers and migrants16 or people of seemingly Asian origin 24–26. Research from Malaysia, Iran and Tunisia found that affected people made efforts to hide the infection 15 20 27. Due to stigma, people with suspected COVID-19 might avoid testing or treatment facilities, leading to poor health outcomes and the further spread of the virus.…”

The Emotional and Personal Experiences of the COVID-19 Illness During the Early Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

“…Feelings of anxiety were also highly endorsed by COVID-19 patients in similar qualitative studies in Iran and South Korea. 27 , 36 Uncertainty , the second-most commonly coded theme in our study, was also a prominent concept in a qualitative study on a COVID-19 recovery cohort of twenty-four subjects by Santiago-Rodriguez and colleagues. 24 Relatedly, in our study, individuals reported hypervigilance about their symptoms and not knowing exactly how to interpret their seriousness or significance.…”

Physical as well as psychological distress and coping with situational dilemmas experienced by people infected with COVID-19: a mixed method study

“…Patients with COVID-19 experience great psychological distress during the acute phase of the disease or even long after recovery. [20]. Other study showed that patients with COVID-19 would experience a di cult time during isolation due to physical problems, loneliness, being separated from the family [21].…”