Health psychology on long COVID: Strategies based on NICE and WHO guidelines recommendations

Abstract

Background. The chronic aspect that begins to characterize long COVID appeals to the need for interventions proposed by institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to manage the disease, emphasizing behavioral change and self-care. Objective. To perform a narrative review of the psychological literature that offers intervention strategies in alignment with the recommendations of the long COVID management guidelines proposed by WHO and NICE. Method. MEDLINE, EBSCO, Google Scholar, SciELO, PsycINFO, PubMed, Cochrane, and CONRICYT databases were consulted, using Boolean operators and keywords for an exhaustive search. Results. The contributions of the studies were categorized into five intervention strategies based on WHO and NICE recommendation guidelines: Psychoeducation, Self-care, Support networks, Relaxation, and Goal setting. These are given a brief introduction and their relevance to the management of long COVID symptomatology is described. Discussion and conclusion. The persistent condition of COVID-19 symptoms makes it necessary to recognize that lifestyle changes must be made, primarily focused on health care and prevention of worsening disease sequelae. These lifestyle changes can be achieved through behavior modification, focusing on protective factors such as education, self-care, support networks, relaxation techniques and, setting appropriate goals.