Design of Post-COVID clinics Study (DePCo Study)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Post-COVID Clinics: Understanding views of stakeholders on set-up and delivery
IRAS ID
322876
Contact name
Philip Mordue
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 29 days
Research summary
Background
Patients suffering with long COVID have had a difficult time trying to get medical professionals to take their condition seriously following the COVID-19 pandemic. After a sustained public campaign, partly facilitated by social media, funding was allocated by government to design and implement a service to treat the condition quickly. The result was the long COVID clinics where multiple NHS professionals are gathered together in a team to diagnose and treat patients suffering from long COVID according to their specific symptoms, without needing to go to multiple clinics.
Aims of this study
Understand the experience of long COVID for patients.
Establish what patients consider successful treatment or failed treatment.
Understand the experiences of staff designing, funding and delivering long COVID services.
Map out the process of design and setup for long COVID services.Method
We will interview a diverse range of patients and staff from a perspective called phenomenology. This tries to understand and explain experiences in detail through a cooperative style of interview between interviewer and interviewee. Patients will be selected for interview with the intention of trying to represent people across a range of characteristics including: sex, socio-economic background, ethnicity, employment status and residential location. Staff will be selected with the intention of interviewing a representative number across the various job roles involved in long COVID services.
Following interviews we will transcribe and then analyse the findings to look for common themes and differences. Information from staff involved in the design and setup of the services will be used to map the process for further analysis.
Dissemination
Findings will be shared with those running, funding and organising long COVID services at individual trusts within the North East along with members of our PPI group and other interested parties.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0727
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion