{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T17:56:06Z","timestamp":1785434166439,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"AOSIS","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,9]],"date-time":"2025-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752019200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Evidence suggests that survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experience ongoing symptoms, which is known as long COVID, or post-COVID syndrome. Approximately 100 million people globally are experiencing long COVID symptoms. Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) has debilitating effects on functioning and quality of life, potentially qualifying it as a disability.\n\nAim: This study aimed to assess the impact of PCS on disability levels using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0).\n\nSetting: A digital cross-sectional survey was conducted through online platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.\n\nMethods: A self-developed questionnaire was distributed via social media to collect demographic information, COVID-19 symptoms, and severity. The WHODAS 2.0 instrument was used to measure disability levels. A total of 101 participants completed the online survey.\n\nResults: Most participants were aged between 21 years and 30 years (66%) and were female (60%). The most common acute COVID-19 symptoms were sore throat, fever, and headaches (84%). Post-COVID symptoms included brain fog and tiredness (82%). There was a statistically significant relationship between brain fog, depression, anxiety, and disability summary scores (p &lt; 0.005). The mean WHODAS 2.0 score was 34%, indicating a moderate level of disability.\n\nConclusion: This study\u2019s results align with previous research, highlighting tiredness and neuropsychiatric symptoms as common among post-COVID patients. Post-COVID syndrome results in moderate disability when assessed using the WHODAS 2.0 with domains of Life Activities and Cognition mostly affected.\n\nContribution: Post-COVID syndrome should be recognised as a disabling health condition, with rehabilitation prioritised as a critical intervention to enhance functional capacity and quality of life.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v30i0.2880","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]],"date-time":"2025-04-18T04:11:22Z","timestamp":1744949482000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A cross-sectional study on the long-term impact of COVID-19: Symptoms, disability and daily functioning"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8056-3484","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Soraya","family":"Maart","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p74gp79","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Cape Town"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2831-7245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca A.","family":"Hofmeyr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p74gp79","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Cape Town"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1182-2398","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin J.","family":"Muller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p74gp79","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Cape Town"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5391-6974","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lehlohonlo B.","family":"Tserere","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p74gp79","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Cape Town"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Allen, M., 2017, The Sage encyclopedia of communication research methods, vols. 1\u20134, SAGE Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.","DOI":"10.4135\/9781483381411"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bridwell, R., Long, B. & Gottlieb, M., 2020, \u2018Neurologic complications of COVID-19\u2019, American Journal of Emergency Medicine 38(7), 1549.e3\u20131549.e7. 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