Mullard, J., Mir, G. orcid.org/0000-0002-5277-6885, Herbert, C. et al. (2 more authors) (2024) ‘You’re just a Guinea pig’: Exploring the barriers and impacts of living with long COVID‐19: A view from the undiagnosed. Sociology of Health & Illness, 46 (8). pp. 1602-1625. ISSN 0141-9889
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on ethnically minoritised and other marginalised communities, yet little is known about the impacts of long COVID-19 (LC) on this group. Living with LC takes its toll both physically, emotionally and financially and even more so when a diagnosis is hard to come by. By using qualitative interviews centring the view of undiagnosed and marginalised communities already classed as ‘underserved’ in the medical literature, we show the range of barriers and impacts faced by these groups in the UK, and the strategies of resilience they use. Whether trapped on a ‘diagnostic odyssey’ at the level of primary care, struggling to maintain employment and businesses, or managing family commitments, we argue many minoritised communities are caught in a liminal space of misrecognition, invalidation and ambiguity. We show how these impacts are generated by tensions and challenges in the process and categorisation of diagnosis, and how this effects the daily lives of many individuals already on the receiving end of health inequity. We also offer some examples and suggestions for best practices.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | diagnostic odyssey; emotional labour; health inequalities; invalidation; long COVID-19; marginalised communities; recognition |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Clinical & Population Science Dept (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NIHR National Inst Health Research COV-LT2-0016 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Feb 2025 16:49 |
Last Modified: | 07 Feb 2025 16:49 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1467-9566.13795 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:222973 |