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. 2025 Sep 29;25(1):736.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06368-9.

Exploring long-term recovery and community health management: a qualitative study of older adults and caregivers' experiences post COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland

Aoife McCarthy  1   2 , Rose Galvin  3   4 , Frances Dockery  5 , Margaret O'Connor  6   7 , Antonella Milos  8 , Collette Devlin  3   4 , Elaine Conway  4   9 , Leonora Carey  8 , Miriam Haaksma  10   11 , Audrey Tierney  3   4 , Katie Robinson  3   4
Affiliations

Exploring long-term recovery and community health management: a qualitative study of older adults and caregivers' experiences post COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland

Aoife McCarthy et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 remains a significant threat to older adults, who continue to be the primary drivers of COVID-19-related hospitalizations. Older adults face long-term risks of death and adverse health outcomes following hospitalisation for COVID-19. This study aimed to explore older adults' and their caregivers long-term experience of recovery from COVID-19 following inpatient geriatric rehabilitation.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was adopted. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research' were used to guide conduct and reporting of the study. A purposive and convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants.

Results: Eight older adults (mean age = 83, SD = 8) and 6 caregivers were recruited (5 family caregivers and 1 formal caregiver). Mean time since hospitalisation for COVID-19 was 2.93 years (SD = 0.31 years). Data were analysed using a reflexive approach to thematic analysis. Three themes were identified. The first, "Health and Function Changes: Unravelling the Impact of COVID-19 and Aging", describes the challenges of distinguishing the long-term effects of COVID-19 from age related changes. The second theme, "COVID-19: Left a Few Marks," highlights the enduring negative impacts of the virus on health and well-being. Finally, "Enablers of Recovery" describes how formal and informal caregivers, access to appropriate healthcare services, equipment and environmental adaptations, and primary care services support recovery and functional improvement.

Conclusion: Older adults report their recovery from COVID-19 infection but note significant long-term effects on their health and well-being resulting in an increased need for formal and informal supports in the community.

Keywords: COVID-19; Long-term recovery; Older adults; Qualitative research; Rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Service Executive Mid-Western Region Research Ethics Committee for University Hospital Limerick on the 27th of April 2021 (025-2021) to include completion of a prospective cohort study and qualitative interviews. An ethics amendment to the original application was sought and approved on the 19th of February 2024 (025-2021). All participants provided written informed consent as outlined in the methodology of this paper. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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