Experiences of pacing to reduce symptoms among adults living with Long COVID in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States

Long COVID is a multisystem condition that negatively impacts daily function. Pacing is a self-management strategy to mitigate symptoms. Our aim was to describe experiences of pacing from the perspectives of adults living with Long COVID. We conducted a community-engaged qualitative descriptive study involving one-on-one online interviews with adults living with Long COVID from Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States to explore experiences of disability. We asked participants about strategies they used to deal with health challenges living with Long COVID. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed data using group-based content analytical techniques. Among the 40 participants living with Long COVID, the majority were women (n = 25; 63%), white (n = 29;73%) and heterosexual (n = 30;75%). The median age of participants was 39 years (25th, 75th percentile: 32, 49). Most participants (n = 37;93%) used pacing to mitigate or prevent symptoms. Participants described experiences of pacing across five main areas: (1) using pacing as a living strategy (pacing to mitigate multidimensional health challenges; applying pacing to many types of activities; process of pacing experienced as a moving target; pacing experienced as a helpful strategy, but not a cure for Long COVID); (2) learning how to pace (acquiring knowledge about pacing; developing strategies and skills to support pacing); (3) encountering challenges with pacing (learning how to pace; experiencing inequitable access to pacing; experiencing stigma and judgement; undergoing psychological and emotional adjustment from beliefs of ‘fighting’ or ‘pushing through’ to balancing rest with activity; making sacrifices; and encountering unexpected obstacles); (4) experiencing consequences of not pacing; and (5) conceptualising and describing pacing using analogies or metaphors. Pacing is a challenging and complex strategy used to mitigate symptoms of Long COVID. Healthcare providers should work collaboratively with patients to further refine and implement this strategy, when appropriate.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Discover Public Health
Published
2025-08-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-025-00822-0
Primary Topic
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Experiences of pacing to reduce symptoms among adults living with Long COVID in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States

Niamh Roche, Hannah Wei, Jaime H. Vera, C S Thomson et al.
Discover Public Health
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
article

Experiences of pacing to reduce symptoms among adults living with Long COVID in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States

Niamh Roche, Hannah Wei, Jaime H. Vera, C S Thomson, Kristine Mace Erlandson, Angela M. Cheung, Kelly K. O’Brien, Natalie St. Clair‐Sullivan, Darren A. Brown, Mary Kelly, Susie Goulding, Margaret O’Hara, Soo Chan Carusone, Lisa McCorkell, Patricia Solomon, Lisa Avery, Kiera McDuff, Sarah O’Connell, Colm J Bergin, Ruth Stokes, Richard Harding, Ciarán Bannan, Liam Townsend, Imelda O’Donovan, Jessica Martin
article en

Abstract

Long COVID is a multisystem condition that negatively impacts daily function. Pacing is a self-management strategy to mitigate symptoms. Our aim was to describe experiences of pacing from the perspectives of adults living with Long COVID. We conducted a community-engaged qualitative descriptive study involving one-on-one online interviews with adults living with Long COVID from Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States to explore experiences of disability. We asked participants about strategies they used to deal with health challenges living with Long COVID. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed data using group-based content analytical techniques. Among the 40 participants living with Long COVID, the majority were women (n = 25; 63%), white (n = 29;73%) and heterosexual (n = 30;75%). The median age of participants was 39 years (25th, 75th percentile: 32, 49). Most participants (n = 37;93%) used pacing to mitigate or prevent symptoms. Participants described experiences of pacing across five main areas: (1) using pacing as a living strategy (pacing to mitigate multidimensional health challenges; applying pacing to many types of activities; process of pacing experienced as a moving target; pacing experienced as a helpful strategy, but not a cure for Long COVID); (2) learning how to pace (acquiring knowledge about pacing; developing strategies and skills to support pacing); (3) encountering challenges with pacing (learning how to pace; experiencing inequitable access to pacing; experiencing stigma and judgement; undergoing psychological and emotional adjustment from beliefs of ‘fighting’ or ‘pushing through’ to balancing rest with activity; making sacrifices; and encountering unexpected obstacles); (4) experiencing consequences of not pacing; and (5) conceptualising and describing pacing using analogies or metaphors. Pacing is a challenging and complex strategy used to mitigate symptoms of Long COVID. Healthcare providers should work collaboratively with patients to further refine and implement this strategy, when appropriate.

Discover Public HealthVol. 22(1)
Brighton and Sussex Medical School (GB), Nvidia (United Kingdom) (GB), University Health Network (CA), University of Toronto (CA), Trinity College Dublin (IE), Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (CA), Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GB), Royal Sussex County Hospital (GB), TD Bank Group (CA), Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (CA), Public Health Ontario (CA), Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CA), Cicely Saunders International (GB), University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (GB), St. James's Hospital (IE), Patient-Led Research Collaborative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US), McMaster University (CA)
Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.