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Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Publications Healthcare experiences of people with long COVID in the GTA

Sarah Sanford, Brenda Roche

Healthcare experiences of people with long COVID in the GTA

"Long COVID" is written in metal block letters in front of a blurry blue background. 3D, blue COVID viruses are framing the words.

Globally, as many as 200 million individuals have experienced long-term health consequences of COVID-19. A recent study estimated that 1.4 million Canadian adults (14.8 per cent of those infected with COVID) would satisfy criteria for long COVID. Long COVID has many symptoms—including fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath and pain—and is linked to reduced quality of life.

The experiences of people seeking services and supports for long COVID have not been well-documented in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This study aims to address these gaps by providing in-depth information about the healthcare experiences of a small group of people with long COVID in the GTA. The research also explores the ways in which individual experiences differ, highlights what this could mean for inequity in the GTA, and suggests some ways to improve responses moving forward.

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Sarah Sanford

Sarah Sanford

Dr. Sarah Sanford (she/her) is a qualitative researcher with a background in critical social sciences, global health governance and public health. She has worked across numerous applied health research and policy settings over the past 15 years, and most of this work has centred lived expertise in developing solutions to promote health and health equity. She has recently cultivated her thinking about the economic determinants of health and is currently researching wealth inequality and health equity in Toronto. Sarah holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree from York University.

Brenda Roche

Brenda Roche

Dr. Brenda Roche is Director of Research at the Wellesley Institute. She was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Anthropology and Health at the Gender, Violence and Health Centre of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She comes with academic and community-based research experience exploring social and health issues in urban settings, including homelessness, sexual health, violence and psychological trauma and distress. Her doctorate, through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined discourses on trauma that operate within the context of refugee resettlement, and how these influence health and social care practices for women (and their families) seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom. Brenroche

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.