Clinical Research Directory

Living With Long COVID: LONGCOVID-EXPERIENCE

Background: One in ten people infected with COVID-19 presents persistent COVID, which consists of the presence of symptoms three months after the acute manifestations of COVID-19 and their persistence for at least two months, without being explained by an alternative diagnosis. The characteristics and clinical approach to persistent COVID syndrome are fairly well known, but not what the experience of people with persistent COVID is in relation to their daily life, their work life, and their experience with the healthcare received. Objective: to understand the experience of patients with persistent COVID in relation to the disease, the health care received and re-entry into the world of work Methods: Qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological study, based on individual interviews. The study protocol will be registered in Clinicaltrials.gov. People with persistent COVID treated at the Parc Taulí Hospital will be included. Sampling will be by convenience, purposive and snowball and the sample size will be determined by data saturation. Semi-structured individual or group interviews will be conducted and the data will be analyzed following a reflective thematic analysis (Brawn and Clarke). The preliminary report will be triangulated with some participants and with the results obtained from a scoping review carried out by the research team.

The Norwegian World Health Organisation Labour Care Guide Trial (NORWEL)

Appropriate and timely care during birth is critical to the survival and health of women and their babies. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the Labour Care Guide (LCG) as the new recommended tool for monitoring birth and assessing progression, replacing the WHO partograph. This evidence-based guide was designed to ensure improved quality and safety of care, and to avoid unnecessary interventions during birth. The LCG was developed to be used in all settings globally, but it has only been tested in health facilities in South America, Asia and Africa, while it has not been tested in high-income settings. Implementing a new guideline for monitoring birth is a comprehensive operation that will affect both the national economy, health systems, and individual patients; therefore, further research on the possible advantages is needed before national enrolment. Hence, the trial proposed in this application is crucial to form the required foundation of knowledge. The trial will be conducted in labour wards at ten hospitals, covering all health regions in Norway, and the established Norwegian Research Network for Clinical Studies in Obstetrics (NORBIRTH), with dedicated local principal investigators, will provide a robust research environment. This trial will test the effect of the LCG. Results from this trial will provide knowledge needed to determine a future implementation of the LCG in Norway.