Opinion Vocational rehabilitation for Long Covid: a roadmap for recovery, 2024, Parkin et al.

Vocational rehabilitation for Long Covid: a roadmap for recovery
Parkin, A; Rayner, C; Mir, G; O'Connor, R J

Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
National Demonstration Centre in Rehabilitation, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK
Person with Long COVID, LOCOMOTION Patient Advisory Group Co-Lead, Leeds, UK
The University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
NIHR Devices for Dignity MedTech Co-operative, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK

KEY LEARNING POINTS

What is already known about this subject:

• Long Covid symptoms are real. Psychological distress can disrupt the immune system and cause chronic inflammation, but Long Covid is not a psychological illness, and such explanations of physical symptoms can be experienced as stigmatizing.

• People are continuing to experience Long Covid, with unknown rates due to the withdrawal of free testing and cessation of national data collection.

• Long Covid can substantially impair people’s ability to return to work, and sustain their work on a longer-term basis, with financial consequences at individual, employer and societal levels.

What this commentary adds:

• Our work investigated the enablers and obstacles to returning to work with Long Covid, from the perspective of patients, therapists working in rehabilitation services, employers and employment specialists.

• A roadmap resource has been developed to address many people’s experience of multiple poorly planned return-towork attempts and inadequate adjustments.

What impact this may have on practice, policy or procedure:

• Occupational health professionals have a key contribution in managing the return to work process for patients with energy-limiting illnesses such as Long Covid, and act as a bridge between multiple stakeholders.

• This first Long-Covid-specific work roadmap provides a clear guide for assessing readiness to work, planning a return to work and supporting patients to safely remain in work by pre-emptively avoiding common pitfalls.

Link | PDF (Occupational Medicine)

 

I don't think there's evidence of that. Psychological suffering is associated with inflammation and immune system alterations, but there is no causative evidence, there are always hundreds of confounders that can explain this relation. But it's stated like it's a fact.

At least this is as clear as it can be.

 

It could be a little more clear I guess:

"but Long Covid is not a psychological illness, and such explanations of physical symptoms cause stigma."

 

I could see this being said by a BPS person.

Imagine:
but Long Covid is not a psychological illness, and such explanations of physical symptoms cause stigma. However, the psychological contributions to physical factors, such as deconditioning, should not be discounted, as we must use the best available evidence to find treatments for patients.

 

I had occupational health assistance. It failed. Such help is critical after many health issues, but while we still do not have definitive and effective treatments for post pathogen syndromes its going to remain problematic.

In particular they are stumped when it comes to PEM and pacing.

 

On Friday, June 21

 

Paper can be accessed via this link:
https://t.co/oqCQPoxwt7

 

This takes me back to my working years. “Touchpoint” I can smell the consultancy fee from here.

That’s a lot of ways to say wait until they’re ready to return; reduce workload when they do.