News item | 6/19/2023 | 10:46
Tens of thousands of Dutch people are severely limited by lung covid. This has significant consequences for themselves, their immediate environment and society. The Social Impact Team (MIT) therefore recommends a visible and convincing approach. Elements in this approach are the accumulation of knowledge, which is immediately available to all parties involved, and fewer barriers in social security, education and healthcare. MIT chair Jolande Sap handed over the advice to Minister van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) on Monday morning, June 19.
Jolande Sap: “Recently, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport launched an initial plan of action for long covid. He mainly focuses on the medical aspects. With our advice, we want to contribute to a follow-up to this in order to limit the social consequences.”
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High social costs
Most people who contract lung covid recover from it, but the consequences are major for some. Based on research from the United Kingdom, MIT estimates that this concerns approximately 90,000 Dutch people. Long covid has disruptive effects on their physical and mental health; their household and family, social activities and leisure activities; their work and income; their school and education, and access to care. The impact of long covid is also significant for society in terms of decreasing productivity; healthcare costs; dropping out of education, and decreasing participation of people in other areas such as care for the family, informal care and voluntary work.
Jolande Sap: “It concerns 90,000 people whose daily lives have changed drastically. They are 90,000 stories of people who can no longer do ordinary things. No longer being able to work, no longer being able to keep your house in order yourself, taking care of your aging mother or, as a young person, no longer being able to go to school, no longer participating with your friends. They are all harrowing stories and what makes it even more harrowing is the lack of perspective. In fact, the unfamiliarity with lung covid sometimes leads to misunderstanding or even denial.”
Voice of those involved
The MIT notes that the approach to lung covid and its social consequences by the national government is not convincing for those involved and is not clearly visible. This feeds the lack of confidence in this group of people and possibly also in society, where the social recognition of lung covid is high. The MIT advises to hear the voice of those involved in policy proposals and their implementation.
Medical and social recognition is needed; without it no suitable solutions are possible. The MIT therefore advises to stimulate the development of knowledge of medical and social aspects of lung covid and to quickly translate this knowledge into practice.
Offside
The impact of lung covid is magnified by flaws in the social security, education and healthcare systems. Sap: “There are unnecessary barriers for Dutch people with lung covid. Barriers to access to education, to care, to social security. The MIT believes that this group should not be sidelined by the systems. And that also applies to the people who will be affected by a subsequent pandemic. If we do not recognize this, it will unnecessarily increase the personal and social consequences.”