Abstract
BackgroundThe knowledge of the long-term consequences of covid-19 is limited. In patients, symptoms such as fatigue, decreased physical, psychological, and cognitive function, and nutritional problems have been reported. How the disease has affected next of kin, as well as staff involved in the care of patients with covid-19, is also largely unknown. The overall aim of this study is therefore three-fold: (1) to describe and evaluate predictors of patient recovery, the type of rehabilitation received and patients’ experiences of specialized rehabilitation following COVID-19 infection; (2) to study how next of kin experienced the hospital care of their relative and their experiences of the psychosocial support they received as well as their psychological wellbeing; (3) to describe experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19 and evaluate psychological wellbeing, coping mechanisms and predictors for development of psychological distress over time in health care staff.MethodsThis observational longitudinal study consists of three cohorts; patients, next of kin, and health care staff. The assessments for the patients consist of physical tests (lung function, muscle strength, physical capacity) and questionnaires (communication and swallowing, nutritional status, hearing, activities of daily living, physical activity, fatigue, cognition) longitudinally at 3, 6 and 12 months. Patient records auditing (care, rehabilitation) will be done retrospectively at 12 months. Patients (3, 6 and 12 months), next of kin (6 months) and health care staff (baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) will receive questionnaires regarding, health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders, and post-traumatic stress. Staff will also answer questionnaires about burnout and coping strategies. Interviews will be conducted in all three cohorts.DiscussionThis study will be able to answer different research questions from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, by describing and evaluating long-term consequences and their associations with recovery, as well as exploring patients’, next of kins’ and staffs’ views and experiences of the disease and its consequences. This will form a base for a deeper and better understanding of the consequences of the disease from different perspectives as well as helping the society to better prepare for a future pandemic.
Highlights
The knowledge of the long-term consequences of covid-19 is limited
In a study published early in the ongoing pandemic, the results showed that health care professionals in close contact with patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, and other severely affected regions of China, reported major psychological strains, including depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping and post-traumatic stress symptoms [13, 14]
Work on manuscripts will follow subsequently during 2023. The rationale of this protocol article is to introduce a three-armed cohort study with the overarching aim to evaluate the consequences of COVID-19 in the perspective of the patients, the of kin, and the health care staff
Summary
The knowledge of the long-term consequences of covid-19 is limited. In patients, symptoms such as fatigue, decreased physical, psychological, and cognitive function, and nutritional problems have been reported. How the disease has affected of kin, as well as staff involved in the care of patients with covid-19, is largely unknown. COVID-19 has the potential to affect physical, cognitive, and psychological functions in multiple ways. It has been clear that a significant proportion of patients with COVID-19 develop long-term symptoms [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
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