Researchers will explore community rehabilitation options for people affected by long covid – which can include mental health problems, breathing difficulties and extreme fatigue – in a new study led by two Scottish universities.

Co-led by Stirling and Robert Gordon universities, the £300,000 research project hopes to be able to recommend the best options to help long covid patients recover by examining various models of community rehabilitation delivered by physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals.

Dr Eddie Duncan, Associate Professor of Applied Health Research at the University of Stirling and a Principal Investigator on the new project says how long it takes to recover from covid-19 is different for everyone, with symptoms lasting for weeks or even months.

“The chances of experiencing long-term symptoms do not appear to be linked to how ill someone was when the infection took place,” Dr Duncan explains.

“People who had mild symptoms initially can still have long-term problems. Some people will need rehabilitation to support and maximise their recovery.

“At present, we do not know how best to support recovery from long covid and different health boards are providing rehabilitation in different ways. Our study aims to discover what works best for people across Scotland.”

Ayrshire and Arran, Lanarkshire, Grampian and Tayside are the four health boards taking part in the study, but the research team will share emerging findings with all of Scotland’s health boards to inform regional action plans to improve local community rehabilitation services.

Most people with covid-19 see their symptoms resolve within around 12 weeks, but for some they can last much longer or new symptoms may develop.

Fellow Principal Investigator Professor Kay Cooper, Clinical Professor of Allied Health Professions of Robert Gordon University and NHS Grampian says community rehabilitation for people with long covid is in its infancy, “with service models developing and evolving as we learn more about the long-term consequences.  

“Rehabilitation services are pivotal to supporting people in their recovery. By assessing the various models being used, we can make evidence-based recommendations to maximise quality of life and recovery for people with long covid across Scotland through the most appropriate models of rehabilitation for service users’ circumstances.”

Read more: Insight: Living with long covid; First long covid guidelines ‘just a starting point’; Covid impact on mental health services ‘significant’

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