‘it’s Like a Nightmare Still in My Mind…we Haven’t Recovered Yet’: Exploring Patients’ and Professionals’ Experiences of Post Covid Syndrome in the Context of Rehabilitation Planning

Research Objectives: To explore the experiences and perceived barriers in navigating the newly defined Post Covid syndrome (PCS) among patients and healthcare professionals, and inform the development of effective rehabilitation programmes.

Design: As part of a larger-scale study aiming to develop an effective rehabilitation protocol for PCS, four focus groups were conducted as part of the Patient and Public Involvement initiative.

Setting: Focus groups were conducted at the University of Cyprus. Each group was facilitated by two trained researchers, one of whom was a licensed mental health professional.

Participants: Five PCS patients and 15 healthcare professionals with varying degrees of experience in rehabilitation medicine, were recruited. The study was advertised via local news media outlets, social media, and targeted communication to professional associations.

Interventions: not applicable

Main Outcome Measures: A series of open-ended questions and prompts were constructed to guide the discussion, focusing on the experience of living with PCS, or supporting PCS patients, input on potential gaps in the assessment or treatment process and lastly, views on the feasibility of our proposed rehabilitation programme and recommendations on how to best implement it in the healthcare system.

Results: Audio recordings were transcribed, and data are being analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Preliminary analyses identified four main themes: (1) physical and psychological impact of acute COVID-19 and PCS, (2) experiences of seeking and providing support, (3) managing others’ perceptions of PCS, (4) awareness and education.

Conclusions: Findings provide useful insight into the barriers to rehabilitation of PCS patients, arising not only from poor awareness of the condition across the community but also from the lack of efficient multi-disciplinary working. Novel rehabilitation programmes will need to account for such barriers, to be more efficiently implemented in the current healthcare systems.

Author(s) Disclosures: not applicable