Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40836768›Full record

Trial reportHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2025

Long COVID Optimal Health Programme to Enhance Mental and Physical Health: A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial.

Hiyam Al-Jabr, David J Castle, David R Thompson, Karen Windle, John Belcher, Mónica M De Icaza Valenzuela, Toby Helliwell, Chantal F Ski

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Long COVID: Lived Experiences, Diagnosis, Treatment and Care.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Hiyam Al-JabrSchool of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4038-3996
David J CastleDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3075-1580
David R ThompsonSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8518-6307
Karen WindleCentre for Applied Dementia Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2136-735X
John BelcherSchool of Medicine, Keele University, Keele, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6844-0932
Mónica M De Icaza ValenzuelaIntegrated Care Academy, University of Suffolk, Suffolk, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9782-625X
Toby HelliwellSchool of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3987-6045
Chantal F SkiSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1324-2933

Funding

This study was supported by Mental Health Alliance (East Suffolk, West Suffolk and North East Essex) (SIV02/0000555).
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLong COVID (LC) is characterised by fatigue, muscle weakness and impaired concentration among other symptoms. No standardised diagnostic or treatment pathway is yet available, though a holistic, person-centred approach to symptom management is recommended. The LC Optimal Health Programme (LC-OHP) is a psychoeducational programme designed to support the mental and physical health of people with LC. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of delivering the LC-OHP to people with LC.

methodsThis was a feasibility randomised controlled trial of the LC-OHP conducted across the UK. Adults diagnosed with LC were recruited and randomised to control (usual care) or to intervention (LC-OHP) groups; follow-up questionnaires were completed at three- and 6-months (December 2021 to May 2023).

resultsSixty participants were recruited with a completion rate of 83% (n = 50). Most participants in the LC-OHP group completed programme sessions (n = 19, 68%), rated the programme positively (n = 23, 87%); and felt that it had potential to improve health outcomes (n = 42, 70%). Initial findings demonstrate improvements across all variables at 3- and 6-months, and more so for the LC-OHP group than the control group in the short-term.

conclusionFindings support the feasibility of delivering the LC-OHP to people with LC. Further, initial data demonstrate potential for the programme to improve most outcomes at three and 6 months. Data from this feasibility trial will be used as an evidence base to support a fully powered RCT of the LC-OHP on patients with LC. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The LC-OHP programme was adapted from the original OHP. Taking into account the various symptoms that people with LC experience, including fatigue and brain fog, public members were not directly involved in the design of the study; however, several approaches were considered to obtain ongoing support from public members while conducting the study, to suit people with LC. This included consulting with practitioners who care for people with LC and implementing their feedback, implementing prior feedback from patients with other chronic health conditions who used the OHP in previous studies, and collecting and implementing feedback from participants receiving this programme in this study. Additionally, two public members with lived LC experience were members of the data management committee that overviewed the study progress and provided continuous support. Public members and practitioners provided advice and guidance on different aspects related to the LC-OHP programme and to the process of delivering it to study participants. This included making the programme concise, visual, colourful, and more user-friendly, and adjusting and adapting the mode and timing of delivering the programme sessions (i.e., reduce the session duration, use convenient delivery methods) as preferred by study participants.

trial registrationISRCTN trial register: registration number 38746119, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN38746119.

Indexed as

COVID-19Mental HealthAdultAgedFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesUnited Kingdomfeasibility randomised controlled triallong COVIDmental healthOptimal Health Programme

Identifiers

PMID40836768
PMCPMC12368431

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.