Themes | Subthemes | Description |
---|---|---|
Impact of COVID-19 on medication adherence | Adherence to prescribed medication regimen | Most participants remained adherent to their prescribed medication regimens throughout the pandemic |
Lack of adequate information and reassurance | Some participants received very little advice about taking their medication during the pandemic and thus discontinued their medication regimen | |
Impact of COVID-19 on physical activity | Increased opportunity to engage in physical activity | For some participants, the COVID-19 lockdown provided the time and opportunity to engage in more physical activity and exercise |
Shielding guidelines restricting physical activity | Most participants expressed that the introduction of ‘shielding’ guidelines led to a decrease in their physical activity levels | |
Seasonal changes restricting physical activity | Many participants expressed that they were unable to engage in outdoor physical activity during the second lockdown due to the poor weather | |
Impact of COVID-19 on diet | Increased capacity to plan healthy meals | Some participants expressed that their diet had improved during the two lockdown periods due to having the increased time and capacity to plan and prepare healthy meals |
Continuation of pre-pandemic dietary behaviours | Some participants did not make any changes to their diet during the COVID-19 pandemic | |
Diet as emotional regulation | Most participants stated that their diet had got worse during the lockdown periods due to an increase in emotional eating | |
Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare access and delivery | Changes to healthcare access and delivery | All participants experienced changes to healthcare access during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the introduction of telephone appointments to replace face-to-face consultations |
Positive impact of changes to healthcare access and delivery | Many participants found the introduction of telephone appointments beneficial | |
Negative impact of changes to healthcare access and delivery | Some participants stated that changes to healthcare access had had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing, especially if their disease was not well-controlled |