Symintiridou, Despoina;
Pagkozidis, Ilias;
Mystakidou, Stavroula;
Birtsou, Charis;
Ploukou, Stella;
Begou, Stavroula;
Andreou, Martha;
... Smyrnakis, Emmanouil; + view all
(2023)
Perspectives of Non-Hospitalised Patients with COVID-19 Self-Isolating for 10 Days at Home: A Qualitative Study in Primary Care in Greece.
COVID
, 3
(6)
pp. 882-896.
10.3390/covid3060064.
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Abstract
The aim of this qualitative research, conducted in Spring 2021, was to identify the inconveniences and the psychological and social impact of 10 days of home isolation, required by law, in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Greece and to improve management. Thirty-seven semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis identified four key emergent themes, i.e., everyday life during self-isolation, psychological issues, social issues, and information and guidance. Food provisioning was of particular concern. Solidarity was expressed to individuals in need. Isolation was not always viable due to space constraints and the necessity to care for sick family members. Fear of transmission to vulnerable groups, hospitalisation, irreversible complications, and death as well as anxiety, insecurity, guilt, and alienation were articulated. COVID-19 disrupted the normal functioning of families and led to revision of interpersonal relationships. Patients avoided re-integration in society due to the transmitter stigma and to limit the risk of infection spread in the community. Over-information promoted fear. Mild illness raised doubts about information validity. Primary care provided monitoring and psychological support. Home isolation caused disruption in various aspects of participants’ life, ranging from logistic problems to dealing with the psychological burden of isolation and illness. Primary care could play a central role in supporting patients.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Perspectives of Non-Hospitalised Patients with COVID-19 Self-Isolating for 10 Days at Home: A Qualitative Study in Primary Care in Greece |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/covid3060064 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3060064 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | psychological impact; social impact; COVID-19; home isolation; primary care |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174311 |
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