Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Suzi Ruhl

Second Advisor

Erica Spatz

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, around 10–20% of people infected by COVID-19 may go on to develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as Long COVID, also known as the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). While the risk of Long Covid among people who received the primary vaccine series fell to 3.5% in one study, as of September 2024, over 1.3 million Americans were being infected with SARS-CoV-2 every day, and reinfections increase the likelihood of experiencing Long Covid in some studies. Continued transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has led to roughly 400 million people experiencing infection-associated chronic conditions, creating an accumulating burden on healthcare specialists, even as up to 40% of healthcare workers report experiencing Long Covid. Globally, Long Covid is estimated to cost the economy $1 trillion annually, and researchers compare the effect of severe Long Covid on patients’ quality of life to that of stage 4 lung cancer and Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, due to socioeconomic influences and healthcare inaccessibility, the demographics most likely to experience Long Covid also face some of the highest risks of experiencing negative health effects from climate change.

Given these findings and that only 7% of doctors say they're very confident in diagnosing Long Covid, for my thesis project, I prepared an informational booklet for healthcare settings on the manifestations of Long Covid, and the subsequent risks for increased mortality that Long Covid patients may encounter from climate change-influenced events like extreme heat, storms, flooding, and wildfires. By raising awareness of the condition, potential treatments, and new mitigation strategies among patients and providers, hopefully fewer people will suffer from Long Covid in the future.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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