Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38549052›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

How do people with long COVID utilize COVID-19 vaccination and rehabilitation services and what are their experiences with these services? results of a qualitative study with 48 participants from Germany.

Tim Schmachtenberg, Gloria Königs, Sascha Roder, Frank Müller, Christina Müllenmeister, Dominik Schröder, Iman El-Sayed

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Tim SchmachtenbergDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany. tim.schmachtenberg@med.uni-goettingen.de.
Gloria KönigsDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Sascha RoderDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Frank MüllerDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Christina MüllenmeisterDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Dominik SchröderDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Iman El-SayedDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Universitätsmedizin Göttingen · DEHochschule Bielefeld · DEMichigan State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStudies estimate that at least 7.5% of adults are affected by long-term symptoms such as fatigue or cognitive impairment after the acute phase of COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination may reduce the risk of long COVID. Rehabilitation can have a positive impact on recovery. This study aims to present the experiences of people with long COVID with COVID-19 vaccination and rehabilitation. Such research is important because perceptions of these measures can impact healthcare utilization and health status.

methods48 adults with long COVID participated in this qualitative study, 25 of them in one-on-one interviews and 23 in focus groups. Participants were recruited via calls for participation on the websites and social media channels of two university hospitals and with the help of respondents' networks. The conversations were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Subsequently, the results were compared, interpreted, and discussed by scientific literature.

results35 study participants reported that they had received a COVID-19 vaccination and 16 of them stated that they had utilized a rehabilitation service. These participants had varying experiences with COVID-19 vaccination and rehabilitation. Nine of them stated that they developed long COVID despite vaccination before COVID-19. Ten participants reported vaccine reactions, and two participants reported severe side effects. Two participants reported persistent deterioration of their long COVID symptoms after vaccination. This led to uncertainty about the safety, benefits, and handling of COVID-19 vaccination. However, most participants perceived the vaccine as effective regarding milder COVID-19 sequelae. Four participants felt their rehabilitation was helpful and four participants felt it was unhelpful. Two persons found the combination of inpatient rehabilitation and rehabilitation sport helpful.

conclusionsSeveral implications can be derived from this study: (1) researchers should explore the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on long COVID symptoms; (2) vaccination campaigns should be more responsive to the perspectives of people with long COVID on vaccination; (3) care planners should build rehabilitation facilities specialized in long COVID; (4) rehabilitation providers should train their professionals regarding long COVID and develop rehabilitation programs tailored to different clinical pictures.

trial registrationGerman register for clinical trials DRKS00026007, 09 September 2021.

Indexed as

COVID-19VaccinesAdultCOVID-19 VaccinesEuropean PeopleHumansPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeVaccinationCOVID-19 VaccinesVaccinesCOVID-19 vaccinationGermanyLong COVIDQualitative studyRehabilitationSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID38549052
PMCPMC10976759
OpenAlexW4393260585

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.