‘The Second Arrow’
A Collaborative Autoethnographic Exploration of What Can Be Learned From One Long Covid Journey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19506834 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarahjane Belton (0000-0001-9672-6276, School of Health and Human Performance Dublin City University Dublin Ireland, corresponding author), Kate Sheridan (0009-0006-9245-1416, School of Health and Human Performance Dublin City University Dublin Ireland) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e70227-e70227 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Expectations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-6513 • E-ISSN: 1369-7625 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/hex.70227 |
| PMID | 40265979 |
| OpenAlex | W4409698536 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 81 |
INTRODUCTION: Long COVID is a complex multisystem illness with multiple relapsing-remitting symptoms, which can vary in severity and impact people's daily lives. This study utilises the first author's experience of falling ill with and recovering from long COVID to investigate the lived experience of the illness. Learnings that could positively influence how people with long COVID, and health professionals, approach rehabilitation and recovery from the illness going forward are identified. METHODS: Employing collaborative autoethnography, the first author investigated her personal experience of falling ill with, and rehabilitating from, long COVID, while soliciting input of the second author (an athletic therapist and physiotherapist, and researcher with expertise in chronic pain) for the purpose of analysis and interpretation. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed across a number of data sources available to the first author, including journal entries, text messages, emails, and pharmacy receipts. RESULTS: Four themes were generated from the data, supported by a number of subthemes: (i) Psychosocial impact of long COVID, (ii) Invalidated, (iii) Validated, and (iv) Power and Ownership. The negative impact of a siloed and reductionist approach to care for long COVID is evident in the findings of this study. In addition, the need for healthcare environments that enhance autonomy and empowerment, and that implement patient-centred care, where the person living with chronic illness is supported to engage in management strategies that meet their needs, is underlined. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the detrimental cost, both personally and financially, of the ongoing use of the biomedical model of care in the treatment of long COVID. Findings support the need for an interdisciplinary approach to care that considers the whole person and adopts a biopsychosocial approach to care. Furthermore, the need for healthcare professionals to actively listen to, respect, validate and support the person living with long COVID on their individualised recovery journey is evident. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The first author was a long COVID patient, the context and extent of this is explained within the paper. As such, this paper is developed and written primarily from the perspective of a patient, as a first-hand narrative of the recovery journey from the illness, with the insights of a clinician (second author) providing context and the potential for a broader understanding of the journey. The goal of this work is, through the dissemination of the paper's findings, to improve pathways and outcomes for others living with long COVID
Autoethnography · Autonomy · Empowerment · Health care · Psychosocial · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research · Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders · Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology
Persistent symptoms after Covid-19
Characterizing long Covid in an international cohort
What are the core elements of patient‐centred care? A narrative review and synthesis of the literature from health policy, medicine and nursing
Developing rigor in qualitative research
Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches
“I Was Literally Just Not Myself”
A worked example of Braun and Clarke’s approach to reflexive thematic analysis
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Between Public Guidelines for User Involvement and Ideals About Free Research
‘I became more aware of my actions’—A qualitative longitudinal study of a health psychological group intervention for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
Experiences of people with long Covid
Accessing care for Long Covid from the perspectives of patients and healthcare practitioners
'Reluctant pioneer'
Psychological Therapy for Centralized Pain
“I Get It, I’m Sick Too”
Self-efficacy
The Illness Experience of Long Covid Patients
The Three Pillars of Zen
A Theoretical Model for Caring for Women with Chronic Nonmalignant Pain
The need to belong
Easier Said than Done
The Body, Identity, and Self
Chronic illness as biographical disruption
Reframing health and illness
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |