Consumer Experience of an Australian Multidisciplinary Long COVID Clinic That Incorporates Personalised Exercise Prescription: A Qualitative Analysis

BACKGROUND: In Australia, Long COVID is prevalent in 5%-10% of COVID-19 cases. Few multidisciplinary services exist to support recovery from Long COVID. OBJECTIVE: To understand the consumer experience and acceptability of a novel Australian Long COVID Recovery Clinic, which incorporates personalised exercise prescription including respiratory and peripheral strengthening and carefully monitored cardiovascular training. DESIGN: Qualitative study; semi-structured interviews conducted by a researcher external to the clinic delivery. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of participants who have completed the Long COVID Recovery Clinic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Major themes were identified by inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Fifteen participants were interviewed. 14/15 (93%) participants described the clinic model as acceptable or highly acceptable. Five core themes were identified, including (1) encouraging staff and light-filled facilities support recovery; (2) supervised exercise and pacing improve confidence with exercise; (3) peer support and group therapy augments recovery; (4) other services augment Long COVID recovery, and (5) importance of GP involvement in connection with clinic participation. Suggestions for improvement included extending the duration of the clinic programme beyond 2 months, reducing wait times by increasing staffing levels and adjusting the clinic schedule to broaden access options. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants found that the Long COVID Recovery Clinic, which incorporates both supervised exercise and pacing, is acceptable and would recommend it to others. From the consumer perspective, the Long COVID Recovery Clinic aids recovery alongside GP management through a combination of peer support and an individually tailored programme. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: A consumer was a highly valued member of our research team. She has been involved in study design, analysis, and interpretation. She has also been involved in editing the manuscript and provided advice to ensure the language used in the manuscript is sensitive to a consumer audience. As our consumer meets the authorship guidelines, we have included her as an author in this manuscript. We also intend to include our consumers in the dissemination of these results when published (e.g., social media). TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12622000719730.