A recent study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health has qualitatively explored patient experiences of care access, diagnosis and rehabilitation among patients with long COVID in a multiethnic population in Denmark.
Researchers carried out 18 semi-structured interviews with individuals of Danish, Turkish and Moroccan background who were diagnosed with long COVID. Informants were sampled purposively to secure variation in sex, age, country of origin and immigration status. An interview guide was developed using the theoretical framework of candidacy. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, member checked and subsequently analyzed using thematic framework analysis and NVivo software.
Findings showed that accessing care and rehabilitation for long COVID was difficult regardless of ethnic background. Following the novelty of COVID-19 and thus uncertainty of long COVID, informants had to self-advocate and navigate established and alternative healthcare services by themselves. Additionally, patients with Moroccan and Turkish minority background had to contend with experiences of differential treatment and of having their motives for seeking help questioned, while also finding it harder to benefit from the rehabilitation measures offered.
The study demonstrates how the emergence of a new viral disease with unknown long-term sequelae resulted in a group of patients who largely carried the burden of getting better by themselves. Yet patients with an ethnic minority background experienced additional, worrying barriers. More research into relevant diagnosis, care and support for all long COVID patients is needed, especially among ethnic minorities.
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948251400105