Abstract
Objectives To explore the impact of Long Covid (LC) on the school experiences of children and young people (CYP).
Design Qualitative study using narrative interviews.
Participants 22 CYP (aged 10–18 years, 15 female) with LC and 15 parents/caregivers (13 female) of CYP (aged 5–18 years) with LC.
Setting Interviews were conducted between October 2021 and July 2022 via online video call or telephone. Recruitment routes included social media, LC support groups, clinicians, community groups and snowballing.
Results Three key findings were identified. Finding 1: Going to school is a valued part of CYP’s lives and participants viewed educational attainment as important for their future trajectories. Returning to school full time was highlighted as a key part of regaining ‘normal life’. Finding 2: Attending school (in-person or online) with LC is extremely difficult; even a gradual return required CYP to balance the impact of being at and engaging with school, with the need to manage symptoms to prevent relapse. Often this meant prioritising school and rest over other aspects of their lives. Finding 3: School responses to CYP with LC were reported to be mixed and hampered by difficulties communicating with healthcare professionals during the pandemic and a lack of awareness of LC among healthcare and education professionals. Participants viewed supportive school responses as staff believing, understanding and taking them seriously, alongside schools offering tailored and flexible adaptations which allowed engagement with school while limiting any deterioration of symptoms.
Conclusions This study describes how LC affects the school experiences of CYP and generates recommendations for supportive school responses alongside supportive healthcare professionals. Further research could explore the approaches that facilitate a successful return to school for CYP with LC and investigate education professionals’ perspectives on support they require to positively engage with returning pupils.
Design Qualitative study using narrative interviews.
Participants 22 CYP (aged 10–18 years, 15 female) with LC and 15 parents/caregivers (13 female) of CYP (aged 5–18 years) with LC.
Setting Interviews were conducted between October 2021 and July 2022 via online video call or telephone. Recruitment routes included social media, LC support groups, clinicians, community groups and snowballing.
Results Three key findings were identified. Finding 1: Going to school is a valued part of CYP’s lives and participants viewed educational attainment as important for their future trajectories. Returning to school full time was highlighted as a key part of regaining ‘normal life’. Finding 2: Attending school (in-person or online) with LC is extremely difficult; even a gradual return required CYP to balance the impact of being at and engaging with school, with the need to manage symptoms to prevent relapse. Often this meant prioritising school and rest over other aspects of their lives. Finding 3: School responses to CYP with LC were reported to be mixed and hampered by difficulties communicating with healthcare professionals during the pandemic and a lack of awareness of LC among healthcare and education professionals. Participants viewed supportive school responses as staff believing, understanding and taking them seriously, alongside schools offering tailored and flexible adaptations which allowed engagement with school while limiting any deterioration of symptoms.
Conclusions This study describes how LC affects the school experiences of CYP and generates recommendations for supportive school responses alongside supportive healthcare professionals. Further research could explore the approaches that facilitate a successful return to school for CYP with LC and investigate education professionals’ perspectives on support they require to positively engage with returning pupils.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e075756 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 19 Sept 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 19 Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
We would like to thank all the children, young people and parents who took part in interviews, especially as many of our participants were still very affected by their Long Covid symptoms and had limited physical and cognitive resources. We would like to thank the funders of our research and our colleagues at the Health Experiences Research Group in Oxford. Thank you especially to Dr Anna Dowrick for helpful comments on an earlier draft.his work is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (COV-LT2-0005).