Evidence mapPaperPMID 42332203Full record

ArticleJournal of racial and ethnic health disparities2026

Symptoms, Functional Impact and Perceived Healthcare Barriers Experienced by Racialized Communities Living with Long COVID in Canada: A Mixed-methods Study.

Nadine Akbar, Siona Phadke, Sumaya Mehelay, Afolasade Fakolade, Marcia Finlayson

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Article in Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nadine AkbarHumber River Health (Research Institute), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. nadine.akbar@utoronto.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9983-0861
Siona PhadkeUniversity of Ottawa, (Faculty of Medicine), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Sumaya MehelayMcMaster University (Faculty of Health Sciences), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Afolasade FakoladeQueen's University (School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences), Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Marcia FinlaysonQueen's University (School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences), Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPost COVID-19 Condition (PCC) or Long COVID has been shown to be more prevalent among racialized communities. The symptoms and lived experiences of racialized communities living with Long COVID in Canada has yet to be reported.

objectiveTo describe the symptoms, functional impact, and perceived barriers and facilitators to treatment and/or rehabilitation for racialized communities living with Long COVID in Canada. To further explore whether there are differences across racial groups (including comparison to non-racialized/ White) with regards to symptoms, functional impact, and perceived healthcare barriers.

methodsConvergent parallel mixed-methods design, which included quantitative measures and qualitative semi-structured interviews with 49 participants, with a large proportion (59%) of participants self-identifying as racialized (predominantly Black and South Asian).

resultsThe rates of severe fatigue and clinically significant depression for the entire sample were high at 88% and 78% respectively. Long COVID had major negative functional impacts, with 27% of participants not being able to return to full-time work since contracting COVID-19. The biggest barrier to treatment and rehabilitation was dismissal by healthcare providers, which was exacerbated by factors including gender identity (being a woman) and race. Black participants reported more discrimination compared to White participants, which correlated with more severe depression.

conclusionsLess dismissal of symptoms by healthcare providers and greater mental health support are needed, especially for racialized communities living with Long COVID. There is also a need for more employer and government financial support and for healthcare organizations to address discrimination and anti-Black racism in healthcare.

Indexed as

EthnicityLong COVIDPost COVID-19 conditionRaceRacializedRehabilitation

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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.