Enhancing Health Outcomes: A Lifestyle Adjustment Program for Long COVID-19 Patients - A Randomized Control Trial

COVID-19 pandemic has caused a relevant proportion of post-acute patients experiencing a wide range of long-term, health-related symptoms which can cause a negative effect on their daily life. It is known as Long COVID-19. These patients are proposed to use a therapeutic strategy involving the integration of self-management regimens, making lifestyle adjustments, and strategy development to cope with those symptoms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of self-adjustment strategies-based intervention to improve symptomatic severity and quality of life. The study was a randomised single-blind clinical trial. Quality of life, disability, and functional impairment were collected. The control group received a leaflet with information on the main symptoms of Long COVID. The intervention group received treatment based on monitoring and recognizing symptomatology and functional improvement. A total of 54 participants were included. After intervention, the quality-of-life variable showed significant differences between groups in the self-care (p=0.004) and anxiety/depression (p=0.009) dimensions. Significant between-groups differences were also found for the self-care (p=0.014) subscale of the disability variable. The intervention group showed significant differences from baseline on some subscales of the quality of life, disability, and functional impairment variables. Strategies based on lifestyle adjustments are adequate for the improvement of quality of life and symptom severity in the long COVID-19 population. The findings suggest that applying an intervention focused in self-adjustment for long COVID patients can have positive effects on health outcomes.