IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i10p6263-d820696.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experiences, Emotions, and Health Consequences among COVID-19 Survivors after Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization

Author

Listed:
  • Ilenia Piras

    (Department of Biomedical Sciences, PhD School in Biomedical Sciences (Public Health), University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
    Emergency Department SS. Trinità Hospital, ASL Cagliari, 09121 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Maria Francesca Piazza

    (Liguria Health Authority (A.Li.Sa.), 16121 Genoa, Italy)

  • Cristina Piccolo

    (Intensive Care Unit SS. Trinità Hospital, ASL Cagliari, 09121 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Antonio Azara

    (Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy)

  • Andrea Piana

    (Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy)

  • Gabriele Finco

    (Intensive Care Unit Policlinico Universitario, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy
    Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy)

  • Maura Galletta

    (Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy)

Abstract

Literature suggested that COVID-19 patients experienced hospitalization as a physically and psychologically stressful event, with the risk to develop post-traumatic stress symptoms. The study aimed to understand psychological experiences of COVID-19 survivors with severe complications during and after ICU hospitalization, and any relevant health consequences. From October 2020 to January 2021, a qualitative study was conducted in Italy via semi-structured interviews by phone or video call addressed to COVID-19 survivors, randomly enrolled among people who released their stories publicly on newspapers, television, or social media. Fifteen individuals (three women and twelve men with average age of 56.4 years) were interviewed. Four main themes emerged: (i) emotion of fear; (ii) isolation and loneliness; (iii) unawareness about the gravity of the situation as a protective factor; (iv) “Long COVID” as consequences of the disease on physical and psychological health. During hospitalization, 66.7% of participants had mild or moderate values of anxiety and depression. After discharge, 86.7% moved to normal values. The results suggest that long-COVID is an important problem to manage to improve patients’ quality of life. It is essential to guarantee a holistic take in charge starting before the discharge and continuing care after discharge in the community where they live.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilenia Piras & Maria Francesca Piazza & Cristina Piccolo & Antonio Azara & Andrea Piana & Gabriele Finco & Maura Galletta, 2022. "Experiences, Emotions, and Health Consequences among COVID-19 Survivors after Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:6263-:d:820696
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/6263/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/6263/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanna Deiana & Antonio Azara & Marco Dettori & Fiorenzo Delogu & Gavino Vargiu & Isabella Gessa & Filippo Stroscio & Marcello Tidore & Giorgio Steri & Paolo Castiglia, 2020. "Deaths in SARS-Cov-2 Positive Patients in Italy: The Influence of Underlying Health Conditions on Lethality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-10, June.
    2. Haoyu Pei & Qiuping Wu & Yu Xie & Jing Deng & Limei Jiang & Xiaoqin Gan, 2021. "A Qualitative Investigation of the Psychological Experiences of COVID-19 Patients Receiving Inpatient Care in Isolation," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 30(7), pages 1113-1120, September.
    3. Montserrat Venturas & Judith Prats & Elena Querol & Adelaida Zabalegui & Núria Fabrellas & Paula Rivera & Claudia Casafont & Cecilia Cuzco & Cindy E. Frías & Maria Carmen Olivé & Silvia Pérez-Ortega, 2021. "Lived Experiences of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maura Galletta & Maria Francesca Piazza & Stefania Luisa Meloni & Elsa Chessa & Ilenia Piras & Judith E. Arnetz & Ernesto D’Aloja, 2022. "Patient Involvement in Shared Decision-Making: Do Patients Rate Physicians and Nurses Differently?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-13, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marco Dettori & Paola Pittaluga & Giulia Busonera & Carmelo Gugliotta & Antonio Azara & Andrea Piana & Antonella Arghittu & Paolo Castiglia, 2020. "Environmental Risks Perception Among Citizens Living Near Industrial Plants: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Simona Tondelli & Ebrahim Farhadi & Bahareh Akbari Monfared & Mehdi Ataeian & Hossein Tahmasebi Moghaddam & Marco Dettori & Lucia Saganeiti & Beniamino Murgante, 2022. "Air Quality and Environmental Effects Due to COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran: Lessons for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-28, November.
    3. Vicente Paulo Alves & Francine Golghetto Casemiro & Bruno Gedeon de Araujo & Marcos André de Souza Lima & Rayssa Silva de Oliveira & Fernanda Tamires de Souza Fernandes & Ana Vitória Campos Gomes & Da, 2021. "Factors Associated with Mortality among Elderly People in the COVID-19 Pandemic (SARS-CoV-2): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Antonella Arghittu & Marco Dettori & Emma Dempsey & Giovanna Deiana & Claudio Angelini & Angela Bechini & Caterina Bertoni & Sara Boccalini & Paolo Bonanni & Sandro Cinquetti & Fabrizio Chiesi & Maria, 2021. "Health Communication in COVID-19 Era: Experiences from the Italian VaccinarSì Network Websites," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Thomas Gerhard Wolf & Leonardo de Col & Seyed Ahmad Banihashem Rad & Paolo Castiglia & Antonella Arghittu & Mina Cannavale & Guglielmo Campus, 2022. "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Risk Awareness in Dentists: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Carmelo Gugliotta & Davide Gentili & Silvia Marras & Marco Dettori & Pietro Paolo Muglia & Maria Giuseppina Desole & Marcello Acciaro & Sabina Bellu & Antonio Azara & Paolo Castiglia, 2021. "SARS-CoV-2 Epidemics in Retirement and Nursing Homes in Italy: A New Preparedness Assessment Model after the First Epidemic Wave," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-22, May.
    7. Constantin Ciucurel & Elena Ioana Iconaru, 2020. "An Epidemiological Study on the Prevalence of the Clinical Features of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Romanian People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Yu Deng & Huimin Li & Minjun Park, 2022. "Emotional Experiences of COVID-19 Patients in China: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-22, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:6263-:d:820696. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.