Constitution of Long COVID illness, patienthood and recovery: a critical synthesis of qualitative studies.
BMJ Open
; 14(3): e083340, 2024 Mar 28.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38548364
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the lived experiences of Long COVID.DESIGN:
Critical interpretive synthesis of qualitative research. DATA SOURCES PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched on 14 September 2023. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Original peer-reviewed qualitative studies describing the experiences of Long COVID were eligible for inclusion. DATA EXTRACTION ANDSYNTHESIS:
We used established qualitative synthesis methods to search, screen and manually code the included studies. Critical interpretation methods were used to analyse the data and develop synthetic constructs.RESULTS:
68 articles were identified in the first phase of sampling, with 16 studies and 879 participants included in the final synthesis. The analysis of these studies was organised into three thematic constructions of Long COVID (1) the illness, (2) the patient and (3) recovery. Long COVID was diversely characterised across study approaches, designs and findings but was underpinned by shared diagnostic logics, which shaped the identification and measurement of symptoms. The boundaries between different constitutions of Long COVID in qualitative accounts of illness experience were often imprecise. Slippages between different definitions of Long COVID had implications for patient experiences in relation to diagnosis, help-seeking and care, and expectations of recovery.CONCLUSIONS:
Long COVID is a site of multiple and diverse qualitative interpretation. Accounts of lived experience emphasise the constitutions of illness, patienthood and recovery as situated and emergent. The ongoing context-based negotiation of Long COVID is a defining qualitative feature of the condition. Approaches to researching, diagnosing and developing health interventions must be as adaptive as the varieties of Long COVID lived experience.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
COVID-19
/
Síndrome de COVID-19 Pós-Aguda
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMJ Open
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália