Effectiveness of a 12-session, student-delivered, chronic disease self-management clinic for people with long COVID compared to a single session approach

Long COVID is a multisystemic condition comprising symptoms that follow an acute infection. The School of Primary and Allied Health Care (SPAHC) Long COVID Student-directed program has been proposed as a novel way to simultaneously: 1. Serve a section of our community that is currently falling between the cracks of our health care system, 2. Create opportunity for gaining clinical experiences amongst allied health students, 3. Undertake research evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interventions for managing long COVID symptoms in the context of a student-led clinic. The paucity of information regarding effective treatments for long COVID means that there is an urgent need to develop an evidence-base for treatments. The research questions are: Primary:  What is the effect of providing a multi-session, goal-directed, chronic disease self- management program for people experiencing long COVID compared to a single session of modified chronic disease self-management on health outcomes [note outcomes selection process below] at the 3-month follow-up time point? Secondary:  What is the participation profile of people engaged in the multi-session, goal-directed, chronic disease self-management program (number of sessions completed, reasons for cessation eg. Problem resolution)?  What is the sustainability of changes observed at the 3-month follow-up when reviewed at the 6-month follow-up for those immediately participating in the multi-session, goal- directed, chronic disease self-management program?  What proportion of patients who are initially allocated to the single-session, modified chronic disease self-management program choose to participate in the multi-session, goal- directed, chronic disease self-management program after the 3-month wait period?  What is the difference in health outcomes between groups at the 6-month follow-up time point?  How do these health outcomes relate to the perception of the therapeutic relationship from the perspective of both the student and the participant? The SPAHC Long COVID Student-led Clinic research will compare a multi-session, goal-oriented, chronic disease self-management treatment approach (up to 12 telehealth sessions over 12 weeks) compared to a single-session of a modified version of the same chronic disease self-management approach