Abstract
Introduction: Organised by the ‘Qualitative Long Covid Network’, a workshop for qualitative Long COVID (LC) researchers, LC charity representatives and people with LC took place in June 2023, where research on the intersectional inequalities affecting LC prevalence, recognition and care was shared and discussed.
Methods: Five key themes were drawn up from presentations, discussions and reflections during the workshop, which are presented in this study.
Results: The following five themes are discussed: the unfairness of LC, difficulties in accessing care, mistrust of the healthcare system, a lack of understanding of LC and experiences of stigma and discrimination. Factors that widen or narrow inequalities related to LC were identified.
Conclusion: A call to action is proposed to investigate and address inequalities through a robust LC research agenda that speaks with conviction to policy and decision-makers. We argue that there needs to be a strong investment in research and evidence-based policy and practice to mitigate the worst effects of the condition and address the inequalities in experience, treatment and support, which are experienced more often and more acutely by some of society's most vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals.
Patient and Public (PPI) Contribution: Projects included in this article had PPI ongoing activity to inform their research. A member of the CONVALESCENCE PPI group presented at the QLC Network ‘Long Covid and Health Inequalities’ workshop, as did members of Long COVID Kids, Long COVID Support and Long COVID SOS charities. They were all invited to be co-authors of this article.
Methods: Five key themes were drawn up from presentations, discussions and reflections during the workshop, which are presented in this study.
Results: The following five themes are discussed: the unfairness of LC, difficulties in accessing care, mistrust of the healthcare system, a lack of understanding of LC and experiences of stigma and discrimination. Factors that widen or narrow inequalities related to LC were identified.
Conclusion: A call to action is proposed to investigate and address inequalities through a robust LC research agenda that speaks with conviction to policy and decision-makers. We argue that there needs to be a strong investment in research and evidence-based policy and practice to mitigate the worst effects of the condition and address the inequalities in experience, treatment and support, which are experienced more often and more acutely by some of society's most vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals.
Patient and Public (PPI) Contribution: Projects included in this article had PPI ongoing activity to inform their research. A member of the CONVALESCENCE PPI group presented at the QLC Network ‘Long Covid and Health Inequalities’ workshop, as did members of Long COVID Kids, Long COVID Support and Long COVID SOS charities. They were all invited to be co-authors of this article.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70047 |
| Journal | Health Expectations |
| Volume | 27 |
| Early online date | 2 Oct 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Oct 2024 |
Data Availability Statement
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our thanks and acknowledge the following people and groups: research participants who took part in each study, project Public and Patient Involvement groups, principal investigators and researchers involved in each project, Long Covid Kids, Long Covid Support and Long Covid SOS charities and members of the Qualitative Long Covid Network. We also thank the UCL Institute of Education for facilitating the workshop.Funding
The CONVALESCENCE project funding (funders UKRI MC_PC_20051 and National Institute for Health and Care Research [NIHR] COV-LT-0009) funded the QLC network special theme workshop on ‘Long Covid and Health Inequalities’. There was no additional funding for publishing these shared findings across projects.