Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: May 25, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: May 25, 2023 - Jul 20, 2023
Date Accepted: Sep 6, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Longitudinal Evaluation of an Integrated Post-/Long-COVID Management Programme Consisting of Digital Interventions and Personal Support: A randomised-controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
The post-acute COVID syndrome (PACS) can be addressed with multidisciplinary approaches including professional support and digital interventions.
Objective:
This research aimed to test whether patients who received a healthcare facilitation programme including medical internet support from human personal pilots and digital interventions (intervention group, IG, and active control group, ACG) would experience less symptoms, and have a higher workability and social participation than an untreated comparison group (CompG). Secondly, the impact of a thorough diagnostic assessment and the digital interventions tailored to their personal capacity (IG) were compared to patients who only received personal support and digital interventions targeting their main symptoms (ACG).
Methods:
Employing an RCT design between the IG and ACG, as well as Propensity Score Matching to include the CompG, analyses were run with logistic regression and hierarchical-linear models. N=1020 patients were recruited.
Results:
Symptoms decreased significantly in all groups over time (bT1-T2=0.13, t(549)=5.67, P<.001; bT2-T4=0.06, t(549)=2.83, P=.01) with a main effect of group (b=-0.15, t(549)=-2.65, P=.01), and a more pronounced effect in the IG and ACG compared to the CompG (between groups: bT1-T2=0.14, t(549)=4.31, P<.001; bT2-T4=0.14, t(549)=4.57, P<.001). Workability and social participation were lower in the CompG but there was no significant interaction effect. There were no group differences between the IG and ACG.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, empowerment through personal pilots and digital interventions reduced symptoms, but did not increase workability and social participation. More longitudinal research is needed to evaluate the effect of a diagnostic assessment. Social support and digital interventions should be incorporated to facilitate healthcare interventions for PACS. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05238415
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Copyright
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