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. 2025 Apr 9;25(1):519.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12677-x.

The impact of long COVID on UK healthcare workers and their workplace: a qualitative study of healthcare workers with long COVID, their families, colleagues and managers

Amani Al-Oraibi  1   2   3 , Carolyn Tarrant  4 , Katherine Woolf  5 , Laura B Nellums  6 , Manish Pareek  7   8   9   10   11
Affiliations

The impact of long COVID on UK healthcare workers and their workplace: a qualitative study of healthcare workers with long COVID, their families, colleagues and managers

Amani Al-Oraibi et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been particularly impacted by long COVID, with negative effects on their work patterns and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the intersection between work and long COVID for HCWs, to understand the impact of long COVID on their professional identify, their orientation to work, their wellbeing as professionals, and support needs and strategies for them as well as their managers to continue to work.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured online interviews with three groups: HCWs with long COVID, their support network members, and healthcare managers between March 2023 and May 2024. To maintain confidentiality and address concerns about workplace stigma, healthcare managers were not matched with specific HCWs. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, until data saturation was reached, defined as the point at which no new insights or themes were identified. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: A total of 42 participants were interviewed from three groups, comprising 24 HCWs, five support network members, and 13 healthcare managers. Four key themes were identified describing experiences of long COVID for HCWs: (1) Living and coping with long COVID as a HCW, (2) Workplace impact and adjustments, (3) The uncertain nature of long COVID and challenges of the definition, and (4) Feelings of guilt, stigma and blame.

Conclusion: In conclusion, long COVID has created significant challenges not only for HCWs but also for their managers, who struggled with staffing shortages and lack of clear guidance, and support network members who experienced emotional strain while providing care. The combination of these challenges threatens NHS workforce stability and service delivery. Developing and embedding flexible, standardised workplace interventions-such as phased return-to-work policies and tailored occupational health support-could mitigate these impacts and inform scalable solutions across diverse healthcare systems. Enhanced training for healthcare managers and further research into culturally diverse coping mechanisms could improve support for affected HCWs, reduce stigma, and contribute to a more stable and resilient healthcare workforce. While based in the UK, these findings offer important insights for health systems globally that are grappling with the long-term workforce implications of long COVID.

Keywords: Cultural diversity; Healthcare managers; Healthcare workers; Long COVID; NHS; Occupational health; Qualitative research; Support networks; Workforce management; Workplace support.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. This study received appropriate ethical approval from the London - Brighton and Sussex Research Ethics Committee (REC), and Health Research Authority REC (Ref No 20/ HRA/4718). All participants provided informed consent prior to their participation, and their confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the study. Participants were informed of their right to withdraw at any time without consequence. Consent for publication: Not applicable. This study does not contain any identifying images or personal/clinical details of participants. Informed consent for use of anonymised quotes in publications was obtained from all participants as part of the ethical procedures. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Identified themes and subthemes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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