Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41734926›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2026

How do people with post-COVID syndrome in Germany experience healthcare and information provision? A qualitative interview study.

Janet Weippert, Heiner Vogel, Sarah Sabrina Niedermeier

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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. Article
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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

3 authors.

Janet WeippertWork Group Rehabilitation Research, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany janetweippert@web.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-9003-3610
Heiner VogelWork Group Rehabilitation Research, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Sarah Sabrina NiedermeierWork Group Rehabilitation Research, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1424-9814

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo determine how people with post-COVID syndrome in Germany experience medical care and what healthcare problems they see in relation to post-COVID.

designSemistructured interviews with a topic guide; audio-recording, transcription and analysis in terms of content.

setting13 digital interviews and one face-to-face meeting between April and June 2024.

participants14 German people with post-COVID syndrome (10 female; 4 male).

resultsThe experiences of the study participants in the care of their post-COVID symptoms were heterogeneous and suggested the continued, at least partially persisting, presence of problems in Germany that have already been addressed in the past. While other studies focus primarily on structural hurdles, our study provides indications that the interactions between healthcare professionals and patients may be important for their satisfaction with care. In particular, physician initiative, education and communication appear to play central roles. In addition, respondents often felt inadequately informed and reported problems with obtaining information. The level of knowledge about the disease in society as a whole has also been frequently criticised.

conclusionsDoctor-patient interaction may be a critical factor in improving the care of post-COVID patients, with both supportive and problematic experiences indicating that empathic communication and transparent education can play an important role in reducing miscommunication and perceived stigma. In addition, people with post-COVID syndrome appear to need easier access to disease-specific information, which might be facilitated by expanded digital resources and additional dedicated support information services.

Indexed as

COVID-19Patient SatisfactionPhysician-Patient RelationsAdultAgedCommunicationFemaleGermanyHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeQualitative ResearchSARS-CoV-2post-acute COVID-19 syndromeprimary health carequalitative research

Identifiers

PMID41734926
PMCPMC12933766

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.