Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Persistent symptoms and conditions among children and adolescents hospitalised with COVID-19 illness: a qualitative study |
| Authors: |
M Sunil Mathew, Sarah E Messiah, Luyu Xie, Jackson Francis, Sitara Weerakoon, Sumbul Shaikh, Apurva Veeraswamy, Alejandra Lozano, Weiheng He, Dhatri Polavarapu, Nabila Ahmed, Jeffrey Kahn |
| Source: |
BMJ Open, Vol 13, Iss 9 (2023) |
| Publisher Information: |
BMJ Publishing Group, 2023. |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Medicine |
| Subject Terms: |
Medicine |
| More Details: |
Objectives There is limited in-depth research exploring persistent symptoms and conditions among children and adolescents who contracted COVID-19 illness that required hospitalisation. The main objective of this study was to conduct qualitative interviews among families who had a child hospitalised with COVID-19 illness to elucidate their child’s physical, mental and social health outcomes months after initial acute infection.Design, setting and participants A qualitative study that composed of in-depth interviews among families with a child hospitalised with COVID-19 illness in one large urban US paediatric healthcare system. Parents (N=25) were recruited from an ongoing quantitative study to estimate the prevalence of long COVID in children hospitalised with COVID-19 illness. During in-depth interviews, parents were invited to describe their child’s post-COVID-19 symptoms and experiences. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and coded in NVivo.Results Seven themes were identified concerning the child’s prolonged COVID-19 experiences: (1) post-traumatic stress disorder, (2) social anxiety, (3) severe symptoms on reinfection, (4) worsened pre-existing conditions, (5) lack of insurance coverage for costly treatments, (6) access and utilisation of support systems and (7) overall resilience and recovery. Four parent-specific themes were identified: (1) fear of COVID-19 unknowns, (2) mixed messaging from health information sources, (3) schools being both a support system and a hindrance and (4) desire for and access to support systems.Conclusions A subset of children who were hospitalised with COVID-19 illness are experiencing a range of serious mental health impacts related to persistent COVID-19 symptoms. Clinical and public health support strategies should be developed to support these children and their families as they reintegrate in school, social and community activities. |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
2044-6055 |
| Relation: |
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/9/e069073.full; https://doaj.org/toc/2044-6055 |
| DOI: |
10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069073 |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/320bb1d4f1754dbe9bf28e4056ab9d8f |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.320bb1d4f1754dbe9bf28e4056ab9d8f |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
