Lived experience of long term Covid-19 on workers in NHS health care settings in Scotland: a longitudinal mixed methods study
Many NHS workers have greater occupational risk of exposure to Covid-19 than the general population. In the first wave of the pandemic in Scotland, healthcare workers and their households contributed to a sixth of cases admitted to hospital.
UK studies have found the risk of healthcare workers testing positive for Covid-19 was seven times higher than for non-essential workers.
This is a mixed methods longitudinal cohort study incorporating an online questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews, with data collection over a one-year period. This study aims to establish the nature and extent, and lived-experiences, of the longer-term effects of Covid-19 infection on the health and well-being of a self-identified cohort of workers from NHS healthcare settings across Scotland. We will include a wide range of NHS staff including doctors, nurses and midwives, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and ancillary staff (henceforth, referred to as NHS workers).
In collaboration with colleagues in primary and secondary care, we propose to recruit participants to complete the online questionnaire and take part in interviews. We will use a range of strategies to promote participation from NHS workers, including contact via professional mailing lists, social media, online support groups and snowballing to identify further participants and the offer of an honorarium for their time.
The questionnaire is based on current published evidence and guidelines and will be used to examine self-reported health status, working lives, and other key factors in affected individuals. Subgroups of NHS workers will then be invited to take part in qualitative interviews designed to capture their narrative accounts of living with Long Covid. The participants will be contacted after six months to complete a follow-up online questionnaire and further qualitative interview. We then propose to conduct two stakeholder workshops to help inform the study’s policy, practice and research recommendations, including NHS workforce planning needs.