Recovering from COVID-19 - A Process Characterised by Uncertainty: A Qualitative study.

• To obtain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of patients with COVID-19, the recovery process and consequences for everyday life 6 months after hospital discharge.An explorative qualitative study using individual interviews.A purposive sampling was applied to recruit persons who had received inpatient hospital care, were discharged approximately 6 months previously, were of working age and had persistent self-reported symptoms at a 3-month follow-up appointment.Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants (10 men, 5 women), which were then transcribed and analysed with inductive thematic analysis.Three themes were identified: "Status of recovery - two steps forward, one step back", "Remaining symptoms caused limitations in everyday life" and "Strategies for recovery". Participants indicated the recovery process through 6 months after discharge was a challenging road, often involving setbacks. A wide range of persistent, fluctuating, or new symptoms negatively impacted many areas of daily life, with fatigue and lack of energy being especially prominent. Participants used a variety of strategies to cope and recover.This study increases our knowledge of the lived experiences of COVID-19 based individual experiences. Unexpected symptoms in the recovery process were described and not always possible to forecast.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Annan medicin och hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Other Medical and Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adaptation

Psychological

COVID-19

Female

Humans

Male

Patient Discharge

Qualitative Research

Uncertainty

Persistent symptoms

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)