Harnessing Optimism and Perseverance in the Face of Long COVID-Español (HOPE-LC)

Mount Sinai Health System

Status

Not yet enrolling

Conditions

Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome

Treatments

Behavioral: HOPE-LC~Espanol

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07216040

STUDY-25-01010

Details and patient eligibility

About

The Harnessing Optimism and Perseverance in the Face of Long COVID (HOPE-LC) program, created by Drs. Eric Watson and Amelia Hicks, is a group therapy model designed to foster resilience, adjustment, and coping skills for those living with chronic Long COVID. HOPE-LC~Español provides a culturally and linguistically adapted version for Spanish-speaking individuals in Queens, developed with input from Spanish-speaking clinicians, Long COVID experts, and people with lived experience. Partnering with H+H/Elmhurst and H+H/Queens, the project aims to recruit 25 participants and evaluate program feasibility and preliminary efficacy.

Full description

The Harnessing Optimism and Perseverance in the Face of Long COVID (HOPE-LC) program, developed by Drs. Eric Watson (PI) and Amelia Hicks (co-I), is a 12-week online group therapy program tailored specifically to living with Long COVID as a chronic condition. HOPE-LC provides community and hope; fostering resilience, adjustment, and critical coping strategies in the face of this debilitating chronic condition. Since its inception in 2024, the HOPE-LC groups have engaged 20 patients, emphasizing the need for chronic Long COVID therapeutic interventions.

Through HOPE-LC-Espanol the researchers will translate and adapt the HOPE-LC program into Spanish and expand HOPE-LC's reach to underserved Spanish-speaking communities in Queens and NYC. The aims are: (1) To translate and culturally adapt the HOPE-LC program for Spanish-speaking patients in collaboration with the Advisory Board of Spanish-speaking clinicians, Long COVID experts, and individuals with Long COVID lived experience; (2) In collaboration with the partners at H+H/Elmhurst and H+H/Queens, to conduct targeted recruitment to ensure the researchers are engaging specifically with local Hispanic/Latinx communities in Queens; and (3) To complete the HOPE-LC~Español program for 25 Spanish-speaking individuals experiencing Long COVID within the local Queens community. The researchers will evaluate program feasibility and treatment success to inform future scalability and sustainability as a clinical program.

Enrollment

25 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Age 18 years or older.
Speaks and understands Spanish at a level that allows active participation in group-based study procedures.
Self-reported history of Long COVID/post-COVID condition of any severity or duration, including ongoing emotional or cognitive symptoms affecting daily functioning or a medical professional has diagnosed you with a Long COVID/post-COVID condition of any severity or duration, including ongoing emotional or cognitive symptoms.
Ability to participate in group sessions either in-person or via telehealth (Zoom).
Willingness and capacity to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Presence of severe psychiatric conditions that would preclude participation in group therapy (e.g., active psychosis, suicidal intent requiring immediate intervention).
Inability to communicate in Spanish sufficiently to engage meaningfully in group sessions.
Cognitive or physical impairments prevent participation in group sessions or completion of surveys, without available accommodations.
Concurrent participation in another conflicting interventional trial targeting Long COVID symptoms.