LB072 - PATIENT EXPERIENCES AND PERCEIVED IMPACT OF A WEB-BASED PLATFORM TO IMPROVE NUTRITION AND MINDFULNESS IN PATIENTS WITH LONG COVID (BLEND)

LB072

PATIENT EXPERIENCES AND PERCEIVED IMPACT OF A WEB-BASED PLATFORM TO IMPROVE NUTRITION AND MINDFULNESS IN PATIENTS WITH LONG COVID (BLEND)

K. Furness^1,*, M. Montes-Ibarra², H. Ghomashchi², M. Quintanilha ³, B. Chaves Santos², K. Godziuk⁴, R. Thompson ⁵, C. Chan ^6,7, E. Pituskin⁸, D. Gross ⁹, G. Lam ¹⁰, M. Schoegl¹¹, J. Mota ¹², D. Paterson ¹³, C. Prado ²

¹Food, Nutrition and Dietetics , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Australia, ²Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, 2-021 Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Innovation, University of Alberta , ³Quali Q Inc, Edmonton , Canada, ⁴Department of Physical Therapy, University of California, san francisco , United States, ⁵Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, ⁶Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science, ⁷Department of Physiology, ⁸Department of Nursing , ⁹Department of Physical Therapy, ¹⁰Department of Medicine, University of Alberta , Edmonton , Canada, ¹¹Department for Geriatric Medicine, Clinic Barmelweid, Barmelweid, Switzerland, ¹²Faculty of Nutrition , Federal University of Goias, Goiânia, Brazil, ¹³Division of Cardiology, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Canada

Rationale: Long COVID is characterised by persistent fatigue, cognitive impairment and fluctuating functional capacity, which may limit engagement with health behaviour change interventions. Digital health platforms may support self-management, but their effectiveness depends on usability and alignment with users’ needs. This study explored experiences of people with long COVID using My Viva Plan® (MVP), a digital platform designed to support nutrition and mindfulness.

Methods: This qualitative study was embedded within the BLEND pilot randomised controlled trial. Participants with mild to moderate post-COVID condition received access to MVP for eight weeks, during which they set goals and tracked nutrition and mindfulness behaviours. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 purposively sampled participants after program completion. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Participants had a mean age of 50.0 years (SD=12.5), and 66.7% were female. Six themes were identified: usability influenced engagement; fatigue and cognitive burden shaped participation; self-monitoring supported awareness and accountability; responsiveness to the long COVID experience was important; practical and cultural factors influenced use of the nutrition module; and perceived outcomes varied. Fluctuating symptoms and usability challenges affected engagement. However, many participants reported benefits including greater self-awareness, improved symptom monitoring and increased accountability

Conclusion: MVP was primarily experienced as a self-monitoring tool that supported awareness and accountability rather than a comprehensive behaviour change intervention. Future digital health interventions for long COVID should minimise cognitive burden, adapt to fluctuating capacity and align with lived experience.

Disclosure of Interest: K. Furness Other: KF is a managing editor for ESPEN journal Clinical Nutrition. , M. Montes-Ibarra: None declared, H. Ghomashchi: None declared, M. Quintanilha : None declared, B. Chaves Santos: None declared, K. Godziuk: None declared, R. Thompson : None declared, C. Chan : None declared, E. Pituskin: None declared, D. Gross : None declared, G. Lam : None declared, M. Schoegl: None declared, J. Mota : None declared, D. Paterson : None declared, C. Prado : None declared