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The impact of long COVID on UK healthcare workers and their workplace: a qualitative study of healthcare workers with long COVID…, 2025, Al-Oraibi+

Discussion in 'Long Covid research' started by SNT Gatchaman, Apr 12, 2025.

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  1. SNT Gatchaman

    SNT Gatchaman Senior Member (Voting Rights) Staff Member

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    The impact of long COVID on UK healthcare workers and their workplace: a qualitative study of healthcare workers with long COVID, their families, colleagues and managers
    Al-Oraibi, Amani; Tarrant, Carolyn; Woolf, Katherine; Nellums, Laura B.; Pareek, Manish

    Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been particularly impacted by long COVID, with negative effects on their work patterns and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the intersection between work and long COVID for HCWs, to understand the impact of long COVID on their professional identify, their orientation to work, their wellbeing as professionals, and support needs and strategies for them as well as their managers to continue to work.

    This qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured online interviews with three groups: HCWs with long COVID, their support network members, and healthcare managers between March 2023 and May 2024. To maintain confidentiality and address concerns about workplace stigma, healthcare managers were not matched with specific HCWs. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, until data saturation was reached, defined as the point at which no new insights or themes were identified. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

    A total of 42 participants were interviewed from three groups, comprising 24 HCWs, five support network members, and 13 healthcare managers. Four key themes were identified describing experiences of long COVID for HCWs: (1) Living and coping with long COVID as a HCW, (2) Workplace impact and adjustments, (3) The uncertain nature of long COVID and challenges of the definition, and (4) Feelings of guilt, stigma and blame.

    In conclusion, long COVID has created significant challenges not only for HCWs but also for their managers, who struggled with staffing shortages and lack of clear guidance, and support network members who experienced emotional strain while providing care.

    The combination of these challenges threatens NHS workforce stability and service delivery. Developing and embedding flexible, standardised workplace interventions—such as phased return-to-work policies and tailored occupational health support—could mitigate these impacts and inform scalable solutions across diverse healthcare systems. Enhanced training for healthcare managers and further research into culturally diverse coping mechanisms could improve support for affected HCWs, reduce stigma, and contribute to a more stable and resilient healthcare workforce. While based in the UK, these findings offer important insights for health systems globally that are grappling with the long-term workforce implications of long COVID.

    Link | PDF (BMC Health Services Research) [Open Access]
     
    SNT Gatchaman, Apr 12, 2025
    #1
    Peter Trewhitt likes this.
  2. SNT Gatchaman

    SNT Gatchaman Senior Member (Voting Rights) Staff Member

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    SNT Gatchaman, Apr 12, 2025
    #2
    Peter Trewhitt and Kalliope like this.
  3. Kalliope

    Kalliope Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Glad to see this kind of paper out. And I assume this is a problem everywhere, as health care workers are so exposed.

    The paper suggests several measures to improve matters for HCW with LC, but it seems protecting them from the infection generating the illness is not among them.
     
    Kalliope, Apr 12, 2025
    #3
    alktipping, SNT Gatchaman, Peter Trewhitt and 1 other person like this.
  4. Utsikt

    Utsikt Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    I don’t understand how this is possible. They are able to acknowledge the devastating effects of previous infections, but unable to acknowledge that future infections might do the same.

    It’s like talking about lung cancer from smoking without considering a ban on smoking. Oh, wait, most countries do that as well..
     
    Utsikt, Apr 12, 2025
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    rvallee, alktipping, SNT Gatchaman and 2 others like this.
  5. Kalliope

    Kalliope Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    at least people are informed about the harms of smoking. But that took quite a long battle as well.
     
    Kalliope, Apr 12, 2025
    #5
    alktipping, Peter Trewhitt and Utsikt like this.
  6. Utsikt

    Utsikt Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    And some psychosomatic victim blaming along the way!
     
    Utsikt, Apr 12, 2025
    #6
    alktipping, SNT Gatchaman, Kalliope and 1 other person like this.
  7. rvallee

    rvallee Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    Most importantly: laws and regulations have made it easy to avoid second-hand smoke and other coerced expositions to it. This, higher insurance premiums and other things is likely what made the most difference. As we've seen with COVID, most people generally don't care much about most risk factors to themselves. Only some. Some others to absolute zeal, not much related to how significant the risk is. It's really weird. We are such a weird species.
     
    rvallee, Apr 12, 2025
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