In August 2022 it was estimated that 1.8 million people (2.8% of the population) were suffering from 'long COVID'. Our interdisciplinary project uses the arts to amplify the voices of those suffering from ‘long COVID’ (i.e. those who do not recover from COVID-19 within 4 weeks) and use their passion and drive, mixed with at times frustration and exasperation to move the health and care system forward to recognise, understand, and invest in this very new disease.
Working with long COVID patient support groups we asked people to submit creative writing and poetry to explore their experience of long COVID. Submissions show the impact on day-to-day lives, on families, children, and communities. The loss of oneself to the fear of a never-ending illness, with the resulting loss of hope that many people feel as a result.
The creative submissions gathered provide a unique insight into the lived experience of long COVID.
Published research articles
Pearson, M., Singh, P, Bartel, H, Crawford, P., Allsopp, G. (2022) 'Creative Long Covid: a qualitative exploration of the experience of Long Covid through the medium of creative narratives,' in Health Expectations, 1-10.
Pearson, M., Singh, P., Bartel, H., Allsopp, G. (2022) 'Creative long Covid: poems of lived experience,' in BJGP Life. The Home of General Practice and Family Medicine.