The Impact of Long COVID on Employment and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Patient Perspectives.

Abstract

Background: Exploring the experiences of Long COVID patients who face challenges with employment may inform improvements in how healthcare systems can provide holistic care for this patient population.

Objective: Understand perspectives about the impact of Long COVID on employment and well-being among patients seeking healthcare for Long COVID.

Design: Qualitative study involving one-on-one interviews.

Participants: Eligible participants were 18 years of age or older, spoke English, self-reported as doing well in daily life before having COVID-19, and reported that COVID-19 was still having a significant impact on their life three or more months following an acute infection.

Approach: Participants were recruited from a post-COVID recovery clinic at an academic medical center. Interviews were conducted from August to September 2022.

Key results: Among all participants (N = 21), most described that they were not able to work at a capacity equivalent to their norm pre-COVID-19. For those who continued working after their COVID-19 infection, the effort and energy required for work left little capacity to participate in other life activities and made it difficult to attend recommended healthcare appointments. Participants reported financial impacts of changes in employment including loss of income and changes in insurance, which were compounded by high healthcare costs. Changes in employment resulted in emotional repercussions including feelings of loss of self-identity and fear of judgement at work. Participants discussed issues surrounding access to strategies to address challenges posed by the impact of Long COVID on employment, including strategies learned from healthcare providers to cope with Long COVID symptoms at work and efforts to seek disability benefits or workplace accommodations.

Conclusions: Patients with Long COVID may face significant challenges due to changes in their ability to work. Healthcare providers can support these patients by connecting them to financial assistance resources, facilitating appropriate mental health treatment, and expediting workplace accommodation requests.