Tweet
BMJ Open
. 2026 May 15;16(5):e114928.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-114928.
Impact of long COVID on diverse Australian populations: a multi-site, longitudinal prospective cohort study protocol
Shiqi Luo # 1 , Zhen Zheng # 1 , Leila Karimi 2 3 , Magdalena Plebanski 1 4 , Kate Louise McCann Anderson 5 6 , Natalie Jovanovski 7 8 , Chintha Lankatillake 1 , Wendell Cockshaw 1 , Dennis Wollersheim 1 9 , Jacob Sheahan 1 , Emma-Louise Seal 1 , Kerryn Butler-Henderson 1 10 , Donald Campbell 11 12 , April Clarke 13 14 , Sonja Cleary 15 , Jessica Danaher 16 , Doa El-Ansary 1 17 , Bernardo Figueiredo 18 , Katie L Flanagan 1 19 , Claire Hines 1 20 , Rebecca L Jessup 21 22 , Hanife Mehmet 1 21 , Suzanne M Miller 23 24 , Marie-Claire Seeley 25 26 , Manoj Sivan 27 , Franca Smarrelli 13 , Adam B Smith 27 , Gillian Vesty 28 , Dein Vindigni 1 , Sophia Xenos 1 , Louisa Stocco 29 , Samantha Hartman 30 , Ilan Ivory 31 , Catherine Itsiopoulos 32
Affiliations
Background: Long COVID is a complex, multisystem chronic condition that may persist or fluctuate for months to years after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite emerging international research, significant gaps remain in understanding the full breadth of long COVID's impacts in Australia. No study has yet prospectively examined these multidimensional impacts using a culturally appropriate, user-validated toolkit. Our study aims to characterise symptom profiles, functional outcomes and psychological, social, financial and behavioural impacts of long COVID in Australian adults; identify factors associated with recovery trajectories; and validate a set of measures to support research and clinical care.
Methods: This national, multi-site, longitudinal prospective cohort study comprises three phases: (1) survey selection and user-testing; (2) psychometric validation; and (3) a longitudinal cohort study. Survey selection was informed by literature review, Australian parliament inquiry reports and international recommendations, and refined through iterative user-testing and expert review. A total of 1000 participants aged ≥18 years from diverse cultural backgrounds with ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection will be divided into three cohorts based on time since infection. Surveys will be administered at seven time points over 24 months, with optional follow-up to 36 months. Data linkage to state and national health datasets will enable an objective assessment of healthcare utilisation and associated costs. Psychometric properties of the tools will be evaluated using baseline responses from the initial 300 participants, including assessments of structural/construct validity, convergent validity, known-groups validity, cross-validity, internal reliability, responsiveness and test-retest reliability. Other data analyses will include descriptive statistics, repeated-measures analysis of variance, linear mixed-effects modelling and multivariable regression models.
Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was obtained from The St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (112108/2024/PID00364) and RMIT University HREC (28124). Research findings will be disseminated at conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.
Trial registration number: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12625001415493).
Keywords: Health; Longitudinal studies; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Surveys and Questionnaires.
. 2026 May 15;16(5):e114928.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-114928.
Impact of long COVID on diverse Australian populations: a multi-site, longitudinal prospective cohort study protocol
Shiqi Luo # 1 , Zhen Zheng # 1 , Leila Karimi 2 3 , Magdalena Plebanski 1 4 , Kate Louise McCann Anderson 5 6 , Natalie Jovanovski 7 8 , Chintha Lankatillake 1 , Wendell Cockshaw 1 , Dennis Wollersheim 1 9 , Jacob Sheahan 1 , Emma-Louise Seal 1 , Kerryn Butler-Henderson 1 10 , Donald Campbell 11 12 , April Clarke 13 14 , Sonja Cleary 15 , Jessica Danaher 16 , Doa El-Ansary 1 17 , Bernardo Figueiredo 18 , Katie L Flanagan 1 19 , Claire Hines 1 20 , Rebecca L Jessup 21 22 , Hanife Mehmet 1 21 , Suzanne M Miller 23 24 , Marie-Claire Seeley 25 26 , Manoj Sivan 27 , Franca Smarrelli 13 , Adam B Smith 27 , Gillian Vesty 28 , Dein Vindigni 1 , Sophia Xenos 1 , Louisa Stocco 29 , Samantha Hartman 30 , Ilan Ivory 31 , Catherine Itsiopoulos 32
Affiliations
- PMID: 42152441
- PMCID: PMC13182423
- DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-114928
Background: Long COVID is a complex, multisystem chronic condition that may persist or fluctuate for months to years after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite emerging international research, significant gaps remain in understanding the full breadth of long COVID's impacts in Australia. No study has yet prospectively examined these multidimensional impacts using a culturally appropriate, user-validated toolkit. Our study aims to characterise symptom profiles, functional outcomes and psychological, social, financial and behavioural impacts of long COVID in Australian adults; identify factors associated with recovery trajectories; and validate a set of measures to support research and clinical care.
Methods: This national, multi-site, longitudinal prospective cohort study comprises three phases: (1) survey selection and user-testing; (2) psychometric validation; and (3) a longitudinal cohort study. Survey selection was informed by literature review, Australian parliament inquiry reports and international recommendations, and refined through iterative user-testing and expert review. A total of 1000 participants aged ≥18 years from diverse cultural backgrounds with ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection will be divided into three cohorts based on time since infection. Surveys will be administered at seven time points over 24 months, with optional follow-up to 36 months. Data linkage to state and national health datasets will enable an objective assessment of healthcare utilisation and associated costs. Psychometric properties of the tools will be evaluated using baseline responses from the initial 300 participants, including assessments of structural/construct validity, convergent validity, known-groups validity, cross-validity, internal reliability, responsiveness and test-retest reliability. Other data analyses will include descriptive statistics, repeated-measures analysis of variance, linear mixed-effects modelling and multivariable regression models.
Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was obtained from The St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (112108/2024/PID00364) and RMIT University HREC (28124). Research findings will be disseminated at conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.
Trial registration number: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12625001415493).
Keywords: Health; Longitudinal studies; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Surveys and Questionnaires.