Veterans' Experiences with COVID-19 and How Providers Can Shape Care and Perception with Empathy.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic challenged healthcare systems like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pivot to new models of care and keep up with rapidly evolving practice and treatment guidelines. These challenges were amplified by the context of a polarized society and widespread mistrust of government and traditional media communication.

Objective: We sought to better understand experiences with COVID-specific care and the role of patient-provider interactions.

Design: Using semi-structured qualitative phone interviews, we collected Veterans' accounts of their treatment, recovery, and any follow-up care for COVID-19.

Participants: We used VA electronic health records data to recruit a nationally representative sample of participants across three disease severity categories (ICU, acute care hospitalization, and outpatient) and across three timepoints (2-8 weeks, 8 weeks to 6 months, and 12 months) after having COVID-19. A total of 94 Veterans were interviewed by phone once between June 2021 and June 2022.

Approach: Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using deductive-inductive content analysis.

Key results: Three main themes emerged: (1) Veterans made sense of their COVID-19 experiences by comparing themselves to others and doing their own research, often feeling they had to defend their beliefs to others and in the face of critical media coverage; (2) perceptions of care sometimes aligned with distrust in institutions but positive communication with healthcare providers substantially impacted Veterans' trust in their VA care; and (3) the most effective healthcare interactions resulted from clear and empathetic answers from trusted providers.

Conclusions: Clear, consistent messages delivered with respect and empathy had the potential to overcome patients' hesitancy and mistrust of government and media information sources.

Trial registration: Chronic Lung Disease and COVID-19: Understanding Severity, Recovery and Rehabilitation Needs (LAUREL), ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT04628039.