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. 2024 May 9;4(1):83.
doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00510-1.

Identification of the needs of individuals affected by COVID-19

Halina B Stanley  1 , Veronica Pereda-Campos  2 , Marylou Mantel  3   2 , Catherine Rouby  3 , Christelle Daudé  3 , Pierre-Emmanuel Aguera  3 , Lesly Fornoni  3 , Thomas Hummel  4 , Susanne Weise  4 , Coralie Mignot  4 , Iordanis Konstantinidis  5 , Konstantinos Garefis  5 , Camille Ferdenzi  3 , Denis Pierron  2 , Moustafa Bensafi  6
Affiliations

Identification of the needs of individuals affected by COVID-19

Halina B Stanley et al. Commun Med (Lond). .

Abstract

Background: The optimal management of COVID-19 symptoms and their sequelae remains an important area of clinical research. Policy makers have little scientific data regarding the effects on the daily life of affected individuals and the identification of their needs. Such data are needed to inform effective care policy.

Methods: We studied 639 people with COVID-19 resident in France via an online questionnaire. They reported their symptoms, effects on daily life, and resulting needs, with particular focus on olfaction.

Results: The results indicate that a majority of participants viewed their symptoms as disabling, with symptoms affecting their physical and mental health, social and professional lives. 60% of the individuals reported having unmet medical, psychological and socio-professional support needs. Finally, affected individuals were concerned about the risk and invasiveness of possible treatments as shown by a preference for non-invasive intervention over surgery to cure anosmia.

Conclusions: It is important that policy makers take these needs into consideration in order to assist affected individuals to regain a normal quality of life.

Plain language summary

The impact of COVID-19 has been substantial, both on individuals’ health and on society. Information is needed to understand the biological mechanisms underlying the illness and to provide appropriate support for people affected. This study uses data from an online questionnaire of adults diagnosed with COVID-19 to characterize symptoms, understand their impact on peoples’ everyday lives, and determine the support that people need. Our over-arching analysis of symptoms experienced reveals that heart- and skin-related symptoms are linked to chronic illness, and symptoms related to the sense of smell may have a different underlying disease mechanism. Most respondents had a mild initial illness, but their symptoms were long-lasting and had a severe impact. Our findings show that sufferers need different kinds of support in order to regain a normal quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Overview of survey data and participant inclusion criteria.
751 people completed the whole survey who were over 18 years old, resident in France and completing the survey for the first time. Of these, 55 people who had no diagnosis and 36 people who were self-diagnosed were excluded. A further 21 participants were then excluded owing to implausible or missing diagnosis dates.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Symptoms suffered after infection with COVID-19.
a Proportion of survey participants reporting symptoms by symptom category. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Inset in bars: Number of survey participants and percentage of survey population. b Proportion of survey participants by symptom onset (symptoms began in first month (yellow); later (gray)). Inset in bars: Number of survey participants and percentage by symptom category experienced. c Symptom associations. Upset plot illustrating the number of participants reporting different combinations of symptoms. The largest number of people (74) only experienced flu-like and olfactory symptoms.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Correlation matrix for individual symptoms.
Pearson’s r factor calculated from binary vectors, p < 0.05 interpreted as correlated, p < 0.01 very correlated. The heatbar corresponds to the Pearson r coefficients. The number of subjects experiencing each symptom category given in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Impact of symptoms in everyday life by symptom category.
a Percentage of people finding their symptoms handicapping (orange) or not (green) by symptom category. b Reported impact of symptoms on psychological health (blue), diet (orange), social & relational life (gray) and professional life (yellow) as a proportion of those experiencing each symptom category. The number of participants concerned is reported inside the bar.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. Stated needs of the survey participants for any of their symptoms.
a Overall, 60% of the participants stated that they had needs that were not being addressed. Percentages are relative to the total survey population. N(no symptoms):11; N(no help needed):161; N(needs taken care of):85; N(help needed):382. b Overview of stated needs by symptom experienced. Proportions as a percentage of those experiencing each symptom. Specialist medical help required (dark blue), specialist psychological help required (light blue), socio-professional assistance required (gray).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. Stated needs for survey participants who had ongoing symptoms by symptom category.
Gray: no help needed; red: I have needs that are not met; blue: I have needs for which I have sufficient help. The number of participants concerned is provided inside the bars.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. Analysis of olfactory loss.
a Proportion of the 639 survey participants reporting loss of olfaction. b Proportion with loss of gustation. c Acceptable treatments for olfactory loss as a proportion of the survey population experiencing olfactory loss. Error bars are calculated 95% confidence intervals. Inset in bars: Number of participants and percentage of those with olfactory loss.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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