Recovering from COVID-19 – A Process Characterised by Uncertainty: A Qualitative study

Engwall, Marie; Törnbom, Karin; Persson, Hanna; Palstam, Annie

doi:10.2340/jrm.v54.2739

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…On an individual level, this study highlighted the long-COVID disease trajectory from fear of uncertainty to taking control. This notion has also been pointed out by Engwall et al [ 36 ]. On a systemic/societal level participants described the importance of having support and the helpfulness of having their symptoms validated by others including family, health professionals and employers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Patients’ lived experience and reflections on long COVID: an interpretive phenomenological analysis within an integrated adult primary care psychology NHS service

Skilbeck

Spanton

Paton

2023

J Patient Rep Outcomes

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Background Long Covid is an unknown illness which has been shown to affect sufferers regardless of mild initial COVID-19 or age. There is still a lot unknown about long COVID illness. There has been a call to understand this illness not only from a professional standpoint but also through the lived experience of patients. Patient reported outcomes through lived experience research is one such angle. To date, no research has explored the overall lived experiences and long COVID illness trajectory perspectives of the patients. This study aimed to gather patient reported outcomes of their long COVID through lived experience research. It recruited adult participants aged 18-years and over who had been referred to a primary care integrated psychology service. The study employed qualitative research using semi-structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis methodology. Results A total of eighteen participants completed the study. From their lived experiences, the participants uncovered the varied symptoms of long COVID. They also uncovered their lived progression of living with an unknown chronic illness. Common themes included uncertainty, mental and social impacts, and the processes of self-advocacy, mastering their symptoms, subjective recovery and future coping. Conclusion This study uncovered the lived experience of long COVID in participants. The results from this study uncovered the lived subjective biopsychosocial experiences of long COVID chronic illness. Traditionally, patients receive care and recommendations from healthcare professionals. However, as long COVID is a new illness, this care model was limited. The participants in the current study described being left with a sense of uncertainty and role confusion. However, participants were able to realize their locus of control over their long COVID illness progression. This illustrates that patients have the resources to uncover the unknowns of this new illness which could inform clinical practice and further research. This suggests that that long COVID needs to be approached from a biopsychosocial perspective which emphasises patient involvement.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Patients’ lived experience and reflections on long COVID: an interpretive phenomenological analysis within an integrated adult primary care psychology NHS service

Skilbeck

Spanton

Paton

2023

J Patient Rep Outcomes

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“…The experiences of the physical aspects of the rehabilitation process in this study were described as a need to take “one step at a time”. This is consistent with other research on rehabilitation after COVID-19, such as Engwall et al, 2022 , describing the recovery as “two steps forward, one step back” since symptoms emerged and fluctuated from day to day. All of these symptoms and the slow process of recovery affected everyday life for the participants in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Strategies and standardized care procedures for those who were admitted to the ICU due to COVID-19 were lacking during the initial stages of the pandemic. Previous research indicates that, as a result, these individuals have developed expertise in their own physical and psychological experiences and what they require for a good healthy recovery (Engwall et al, 2022 ). Considering the various symptoms they may experience, the rehabilitation process for ICU patients surviving COVID-19 is complex and requires a holistic approach (Humphreys et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nature of the patients’ difficulties in a prolonged recovery process suggest that psychosocial services as part of community care, or telehealth services, may increase uptake of these psychosocial services to the benefit of the patients, who may feel that visiting healthcare facilities is too burdensome. Social interactions with family and friends seemed to be of the utmost importance during rehabilitation after a severe COVID-19 infection (Engwall et al, 2022 ). In contrast, previous research has shown that this long recovery process could be a burden from a social perspective for both the patient and their family (Bench et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, patients’ uncertainty about the virus and the effects of the quarantine measures implemented seem to have had consequences for patients’ perspectives and their potential for recovery (Sun et al, 2021 ). Patients recovering from COVID-19 report psychological distress related to the unknown nature of the virus (Engwall et al, 2022 ). They may also experience that family relationships are affected and may have difficulty resuming their daily lives (Wallin et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Surviving COVID-19: patients’ experiences of care and path to recovery

Eklund,

Hjelmfors,

Nyquist

et al. 2024

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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Purpose To examine patients’ experiences of receiving care on an ICU for COVID-19 and the subsequent rehabilitation process. Methods An explorative and inductive design was used. Participants were recruited from two university hospitals in Sweden. Patients admitted to the ICU due to COVID-19 from March 2020 to April 2021, who enrolled in the ICU follow-up, and understood and spoke Swedish were invited to participate. In total, 20 participants completed a semi-structured interview, of whom 18 were included in the thematic analysis. Results The analysis resulted in two themes: “An isolated world with silver linings” and “Recovery in the wake of the pandemic”. Findings show that patients cared for on an ICU for COVID-19 during the pandemic felt safe but experienced a sense of vulnerability. After discharge, physical rehabilitation was a slow process with frustrating day-to-day fluctuations. Mentally, participants felt isolated, fatigued, and emotionally sensitive. Patients reported that love and support from family and friends were crucial for the recovery process. Conclusions This study highlights the challenges of recovering from COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of continued support from health care, public services, family and friends. It provides important insights into patients’ experiences and can inform future healthcare strategies and policies.

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A Qualitative Phenomenological Philosophy Analysis of Affectivity and Temporality in Experiences of COVID-19 and Remaining Symptoms after COVID-19 in Sweden

Zeiler,

Jämterud,

Bredström

et al. 2024

J Med Humanit

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This article explores affectivity, temporality, and their interrelation in patients who contracted COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Sweden and with symptoms indicative of post-COVID-19 Condition (PCC) that remained one year after the infection. It offers a qualitative phenomenological philosophy analysis, showing how being ill with acute COVID-19 and with symptoms indicative of PCC can entail a radically altered self-world relation. We identify two examples of pre-intentional (existential) feelings: that of listlessness and that of not being able to sense what is real and not real, both of which, in different ways, imply a changed self-world relation. We offer an analysis of intentional feelings: how the fear of not “returning” to one’s previous self and the hope of such a return weave together the present and the absent, as well as the past and the future, in ways that make the future appear as constricted, disquieting, or lost. We argue that a phenomenological differentiation among experiences of living with symptoms indicative of PCC—through attention to the way intentional affectivity and pre-intentional affectivity help shape the embodied self’s attunement to the world—is apt to yield a better understanding of the variations within these experiences and contribute to clinical practice.

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Recovering from COVID-19 – A Process Characterised by Uncertainty: A Qualitative study

Cited by 5 publications

References 31 publications

Patients’ lived experience and reflections on long COVID: an interpretive phenomenological analysis within an integrated adult primary care psychology NHS service

Patients’ lived experience and reflections on long COVID: an interpretive phenomenological analysis within an integrated adult primary care psychology NHS service

Surviving COVID-19: patients’ experiences of care and path to recovery

A Qualitative Phenomenological Philosophy Analysis of Affectivity and Temporality in Experiences of COVID-19 and Remaining Symptoms after COVID-19 in Sweden

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