Post-recovery quality of life (QoL) of the healthcare professionals affected by COVID-19: a longitudinal study in Bangladesh

The study investigated the enduring impacts on the quality of life (QoL) of healthcare workers (HCWs) recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) over 12 months. The study was conducted among 371 HCWs from November 2021 to January 2022, using the WHOQOL-BREF tool to evaluate the disparities in participants' QoL scores between the two interviews. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample analyses, Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) analysis, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using R Studio (version 2022.07.1). The average physical domain score notably declined between the interviews, contrasting with substantial rises in other QoL domain scores (p < 0.001). After adjusting for other factors, the changes in individuals' QoL scores were considerably linked with multiple characteristics, including older age, female, higher education, higher monthly income, married, active smokers, number of comorbidities, and hospital admission during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the regression analysis, the occurrence of new chronic illnesses was related to the lower physical domain score (AOR: 2.42, 95%CI 1.10, 5.35). Similarly, a reduced psychological domain score was correlated with a monthly family income > 60000 BDT (AOR: 3.26, 95%CI 1.39, 7.65), past smoking status (AOR: 3.42, 95%CI 1.21, 9.67) and COVID-19 re-infection (AOR: 3.94, 95%CI 1.91, 8.16). Meanwhile, being married (AOR: 3.55, 95%CI 1.47, 8.57), having at least one chronic disease (AOR: 2.07, 95%CI 1.17, 3.69), and COVID-19 re-infection (AOR: 2.81, 95%CI 1.37, 5.79) were significant with social domain scores. Subsequently, compared to nonsmokers, active smokers (AOR: 2.12, 95%CI 1.0, 4.49) had drastically decreased environmental domain scores. After 12 months of recovery, the overall QoL of HCWs improved in all domains between the interviews except the physical domain. Participants' monthly income, marital status, smoking history, onset of new chronic diseases, and COVID-19 re-infection were accountable for altering the QoL index of the HCW.