Mental health of children and young people with long COVID_v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative study exploring the mental health of children and young people with long COVID
IRAS ID
312609
Contact name
Roz Shafran
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2022/03/20 health research, UCL data protection registration number
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence, symptomatology, duration and treatment of the long COVID, particularly in relation to children and young people (CYP) and their mental health. Early findings suggest an increase in CYP with mental health problems since the COVID outbreak but it is not clear what is a result of the virus itself and what is a result of associated restrictions such as lockdown measures. CLoCk is a matched cohort study following approximately 30,000 SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative CYP identified from public health records. The study compares responses from participants who had a positive covid test with that of those who did not test positive to help us understand the impact of long COVID on the mental and physical health of CYP. To further enhance findings from the CLoCk study, we will conduct interviews to explore the impact of long COVID on CYP’s mental health from the perspective of CYP themselves and their families.
AIMS: The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between mental health and recovery from post-viral infection with a view towards producing and evaluating interventions. Qualitative interviews with CYP will explore how their mental health has been affected by long COVID. Qualitative interviews with parents will explore the role of parental physical and mental health in the development of and recovery from long COVID in CYP.
WHO, WHERE and HOW: CYP and their parents will be recruited from the CLoCk study. CYP will be 11-17 years old and have persisting symptoms of COVID-19. Interviews will take place remotely via telephone or an online video platform (e.g., Microsoft Teams/Zoom/Skype).
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0076
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion