Background
Long COVID is a collection of symptoms that develop during or following a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, that continue for more than 12 weeks. Despite the negative impact of long COVID on people’s lives and functioning, there is no validated treatment or even rehabilitation guidance. What has been recommended thus far, is adoption of holistic management approaches. The Optimal Health Programme (OHP) is a brief 5-session, plus booster, psychosocial programme designed to support mental and physical wellbeing that has been used effectively for a range of chronic conditions.

Objective
This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of employing a specially customised version of OHP (long COVID OHP or LC-OHP) to improve psychological and physical health of people with long COVID.

Methods
This is a feasibility randomised controlled trial that will be running from November 2021 to October 2022. Eligible participants aged 18 years or older who are experiencing symptoms of long COVID will be identified through their secondary practitioners with recruitment to be undertaken by the research team. Sixty participants will be randomised into a control (usual care) or an intervention (LC-OHP) group. Outcomes will be feasibility and acceptability of the programme (primary); and efficacy of the LC-OHP in improving anxiety, depression, fatigue, self-efficacy and quality of life (secondary). Up to 20 participants will be interviewed at the end of the trial to explore their experience with the programme. Quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS and differences between groups will be compared using inferential tests where appropriate. Qualitative data will be transcribed and thematically analysed to identify common emerging themes.

Results
This is an ongoing study which began in November 2021. The study received approval from the University of Suffolk Ethics committee (RETH21/004) and from the NHS Health Research Authority (IRAS no. 304234).

Conclusions
Long COVID has a significant impact on an individual’s mental and physical functioning. The LC-OHP has a potential to provide people living with long COVID with additional support and to improve self-efficacy. Findings of this study would identify the feasibility of delivering this programme to this population and will provide an indication for the programme’s effectiveness.