ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
This article is part of the Research TopicLong- and Post-COVID Syndromes: Immune Mechanisms and Therapeutic StrategiesView all 9 articles
Integrative multimodal treatment approach for patients suffering from Post-COVID syndrome – a study based on qualitative interviews with individuals participating in a 11-week day clinic program
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department for Integrative Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany, Essen, Germany
- 2Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany, Bamberg, Germany
- 3Institute for Sociology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany, Bamberg, Germany
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Background: Post-COVID syndrome is a complex condition affecting patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is characterized by fatigue, pain, reduced resilience, and quality of life. Severe cases resemble myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), associated with post-exertional malaise (PEM). Due to the unknown etiology and lack of curative options, multimodal therapy offers a particularly promising approach to symptom management. Method: This qualitative interview study was part of a mixed-methods project conducted in 2022-2023, which investigated the effects of a multimodal integrative day clinic approach (MICOM day clinic) on the symptoms and general well-being of individuals with Post-COVID syndrome. The aim of the qualitative sub-study was to gain a deeper understanding of the individual perspectives of patients on their experiences of the illness and the perceived changes reported by 20 intervention group participants after completing the 11-week (66-hour) multimodal program. Interview data had been analyzed based on reflexive thematic analysis using MAXQDA software. Results: Participants reported significant impairments in daily life and work capacity, accompanied by high psychological burden. The multimodal program led to improvements in physical and mental symptoms, overall well-being, and self-efficacy. Patients also reported long-term lifestyle changes in areas such as nutrition, stress regulation, and performance-oriented physical activity. Conclusion: Post-COVID syndrome poses ongoing challenges for individuals and healthcare systems. Multimodal integrative treatment can effectively reduce symptoms, enhance coping strategies, and promote sustainable self-care. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT05630378
Keywords: post-COVID syndrome, Fatigue, Mind-Body-Medicine, Integrative Medicine, MICOM day clinic, stress reduction, qualitative study
Received: 19 Aug 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Uecker, Schlee, Utz, Schmid and Langhorst. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jost Langhorst, jost.langhorst@gmx.de
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