Dr Nina Smyth, Reader in Psychology, and Professor Damien Ridge, Professor in Health Sciences, have played a key role in the development of a new digital tool designed to support medical professionals and improve care for those living with Long Covid, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The work is collaborative with academics and primary care researchers from Keele University, Queen Mary University of London and the University of Southampton.
The online learning tool, Health and Social Care PROfessional–Long Covid (H-Pro-LC), highlights the challenges people from ethnic minority groups face when accessing healthcare for Long Covid. The resource includes guidance on supporting patients with probable symptoms of the condition and aims to raise awareness while encouraging more empathetic, patient-centred care.
Long Covid remains a significant public health issue, with millions of people in the UK experiencing ongoing symptoms months or years after initial infection. Despite this, awareness, diagnosis and access to appropriate support can vary widely.
The newly launched H-Pro-LC tool directly addresses these challenges by offering practical guidance for healthcare professionals, alongside resources that support more effective and compassionate communication with patients. It includes real-life patient experiences, symptom guidance and prompts to support conversations about care pathways. By highlighting the emotional and psychological dimensions of Long Covid, the platform equips clinicians with a better understanding of the complexities of the condition.
A key strength of the tool lies in its foundation in previous Westminster-led research. The study, titled Hearing from the Unheard: Impact of Long Covid in Ethnic Minority Groups (HI-COVE), explored the lived experiences of people from diverse communities, revealing important insights into inequalities in access to care. The findings showed that factors such as stigma, language barriers and mistrust of healthcare systems can disproportionately affect individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, making it harder for them to seek and receive support. The report highlighted the ongoing burden of persistent symptoms, including fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive difficulties, and reinforced concerns about inequalities in diagnosis, treatment and access to care.
By embedding these insights into the tool, Westminster researchers have ensured that it not only supports clinical practice but also promotes more inclusive and culturally sensitive care.
This launch comes alongside the release of a new report that provides insights from people living with Long Covid who have used the tool as well as a video that comprises anonymised patient narratives and imagery of what it is like living with Long Covid. Performed by actors, the video was co-created with an artist and four people living with Long Covid who took part in the HI-COVE study and acts as a soundscape to convey ethnic minority lived experiences of the condition. The launch of both resources helps the team to share understanding of the needs of those experiencing the condition to keep on improving Long Covid support.
Dr Smyth said: “These resources provide a way to share the experiences of people living with Long Covid and offer guidance to help healthcare professionals and communities to give support that includes empathy, validation and fairness.”
This new tool reflects the University of Westminster’s ongoing commitment to impactful, socially responsive research and directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and 10: Reduced Inequalities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
The Health and Social Care PROfessional–Long Covid toolkit is now live.
Find out more about research at the University of Westminster.
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