News - Autonom-e

University of Leeds demonstrate Long Covid research impact with ELAROS

Autonom-e — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:41:06 +0000

University of Leeds publish case study on the Impact of a research programme for Post COVID Condition or Long COVID (LC) with ELAROS

August 11th, 2025

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Long covid group work shaping West Yorkshire’s rehabilitation future

Autonom-e — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:20:51 +0000

Long covid group work shaping West Yorkshire’s rehabilitation future

We are pleased to share this excellent case study from our colleagues at Airedale on our recent collaboration to deliver vocational rehabilitation across West Yorkshire

Reposted from The West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/long-covid-group-work-shaping-west-2vdye/?trackingId=FSiH1w64oWJ08y6kLNPFkg%3D%3D

What’s this project all about?

Since the start of the pandemic, many people have struggled to stay in or return to work because of long covid symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and anxiety. In response, West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board colleagues from across the three NHS trusts in Bradford District and Craven, created a support programme to help people manage their symptoms and remain in work.

The vocational rehabilitation (VR) programme began in 2021. It combines group sessions with one-to-one support to help people understand their health, build confidence and make practical changes at work.

What the service offers

People begin with a triage call, where a health professional talks through their situation and helps them decide the next steps. Most people join virtual group sessions, which focus on:

understanding long covid
managing symptoms
learning from others with similar experiences
planning for a return to work or staying well at work

After this, they are offered a 1:1 session, where personalised recommendations for workplace adjustments are written in an AHP (allied health professional) report. They can then share this with their employer. Joining review groups is another option, giving them a chance to discuss progress, challenges and ask questions alongside other participants and therapists. Extra 1:1 support is available for those who need it most. People can continue to attend monthly drop-in sessions for as long as they feel they need support.

Rehabilitation Lead, Jez Gee, explains:

“What makes this approach different is the focus on group work. By bringing people together, the team creates a space where individuals can share experiences, support each other and learn useful strategies. Participants get expert advice from health professionals, support to plan workplace adjustments and ongoing access to drop-ins and group reviews. This approach is also more accessible meaning we can support more people.”

Faye Peary, Clinical Occupational Therapy Lead, adds:

“When done well, group support is incredibly powerful. It helps people feel less alone, more in control and more confident. Our goal is to provide tools that empower people to manage their health – not just for now, but for the future. The group sessions help participants reconnect and regain their confidence.”

The group sessions focus on four key areas:

Information – practical advice on workplace rights, how to talk to your employer and where to get help
Acceptance – sharing stories help people feel understood and less isolated
Empowerment – simple tools help people understand their limits and plan adjustments
Behaviour change – cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational techniques help people create helpful patterns

What difference has it made?

The results so far have been life-changing for many people

For people returning to work:

93% were not working before the programme
93% returned to work and stayed there after taking part – we support people for as long as they need when they return and typically this is for at least six months

For people staying in work:

76% were struggling to remain in work before the programme with the other 24% very recently going off sick
98% were able to return or stay in work afterwards
some decided to retire early due to health reasons, saying the programme helped them make that decision positively

People also said they felt:

more confident and in control
happier with their job and work-life balance
less likely to feel at risk of losing their job

Over 60% said the support was essential or had made a big difference to their situation.

What do people think about it?

People who joined the feedback shared positive feedback.

One long COVID vocational rehab patient said:

“I no longer felt on my own and knew there were others feeling the same as me.

Faye reflects:

“What stands out is not just the health progress people made, but the way they were able to take back control of their lives. People felt supported, not alone and able to make decisions about their work and wellbeing.”

What’s next?

The success of the long covid VR programme has been taken up as part of the Healthy Working Life programme opening the door to wider plans and ensuring further

keep offering the long covid pathway as part of the core service
develop support for people with multiple or long-term health conditions
launch a new offer that supports people regardless of diagnosis
create short videos and tools for patients and professionals
provide training to other health professionals across West Yorkshire to improve access to vocational rehabilitation

Across West Yorkshire we’ll also be carrying out projects that build capacity and test scalable models across the region:

Airedale (vocational rehab level 1) – we will train staff across cardiac, pulmonary and stroke rehab. High-quality patient resources will support 400 people, with 40 expected to stay in or return to work
Stroke survivors (aphasia support) – expanded speech therapy and aphasia cafes will help 32 people. Eight are expected to reach work-related goals
Active Leeds (cardiac, pulmonary and stroke rehab) – we will embed vocational rehab into existing services, supporting 150 people. Around 45 should remain in or return to work
Bradford (cardiac and heart failure rehab) – integrated vocational support will help 150 people. Up to 60 are expected to continue working
Calderdale and Huddersfield (peer support) – low-cost peer groups will promote mental health and recovery, supporting 35 people. At least eight will benefit in terms of work
Mid Yorkshire (cardiac rehab) – rehab services will be tailored with vocational support to help 83 people. Around 46 are likely to return to or stay in work

Jez said:

“This isn’t just about long covid. We want to put rehabilitation at the heart of healthcare across the region so that everyone has the tools, confidence and support to stay in or return to meaningful work. It’s about changing how we see rehabilitation – focusing on what matters to people and helping them move forward with confidence.”

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Román Rocha Lawrence Speaks at Clinical Post Covid Society Conference

Autonom-e — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 16:00:29 +0000

Román Rocha Lawrence Presents at Clinical Post Covid Society Conference

In March, Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research & Development at ELAROS, was invited to speak at the Clinical Post Covid Society’s annual conference. His session showcased the collaborative work between ELAROS, the University of Leeds, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, BACME, and the ME Association.

Having attended the conference annually since its inception in 2023, Román shared reflections on the progress made in clinical and academic approaches to Long Covid, and presented highlights from ELAROS’ joint initiatives aimed at improving support for patients nationwide.

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ELAROS Sponsors Clinical Post Covid Society’s 2025 Conference

Autonom-e — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 16:00:31 +0000

ELAROS Sponsors Clinical Post Covid Society’s 2025 Conference

In March 2025, ELAROS proudly sponsored the Clinical Post Covid Society’s Annual Conference in Birmingham in.

Our Director of Research & Development, Román Rocha Lawrence, delivered one of the closing sessions titled “Looking to the Future”, which featured three impactful case studies from our C19-YRS platform:

Scaling NHS support services through self-referrals and improving patient reach
Supporting hard-to-reach patients with Long Covid via regional support and signposting
A national collaboration to drive our ME/CFS initiative and support patients and clinics alike

Furthermore as part of the programme, Jeremy Gee & Faye Peary from Airedale NHS Foundation Trust delivered an excellent presentation on their Vocational Rehabilitation project with ELAROS. Oliwia Zwara and Román Rocha Lawrence had the pleasure of catching up with our many other collaborators on the day.

Thank you to everyone who visited our stand—it was a pleasure to connect in person!

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ELAROS Hosts Webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services

Autonom-e — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:29 +0000

ELAROS Hosts Webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services

On Wednesday, 5th February, ELAROS hosted a webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services, bringing together key experts at a crucial time for the ME/CFS and Long COVID communities.

The event featured a presentation from Sarah Tyson (University of Manchester/ME Association) and Russell Fleming (ME Association), who provided an update on the development of a new clinical assessment toolkit for ME/CFS, created in collaboration with people with ME/CFS and clinicians working in NHS ME/CFS specialist services.

Román Rocha Lawrence from ELAROS led the session, presenting our proposal to support NHS ME/CFS services in partnership with The ME Association. This collaboration aims to offer early exclusive access to The MEA’s clinical toolkit through ELAROS’ digital platform, which has already supported tens of thousands of patients across 65 health organisations worldwide, as well as national research studies and service evaluations for NHS England and NHS Scotland.

We were also joined by Anna Gregorowski, Chair of BACME (British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS), a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to advancing ME/CFS clinical care in the UK. ELAROS is working closely with BACME to signpost its resources, ensuring they are more widely accessible to clinicians and patients through our digital channels.

This webinar followed our highly successful Building a Long COVID Service Legacy series, which has helped clinical practitioners and commissioners explore innovative case studies and digital tools to enhance condition-specific and integrated long-term condition (LTC) services.

The session was particularly valuable for clinicians, researchers, and commissioners working in ME/CFS services, as well as those in Long COVID care looking to expand their service offering to include ME/CFS support.

For access to the recording of the webinar, along with the slides, please get in contact with us at:
C19-YRS@elaros.com

We look forward to continuing these important conversations and driving innovation in digital health solutions for ME/CFS and Long COVID services.

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ELAROS host a ‘Building a Long Covid Service Legacy: Episode 2’ Webinar

Autonom-e — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:00:59 +0000

ELAROS host webinar on "Building a Long Covid Service: Episode 2"

On the 6th of November ELAROS hosted their second webinar in the ‘Building a Long Covid Service Legacy’ series to aid NHS services to support patients in primary, community, and care at-home across a range of long-term conditions.

This webinar is our 5th international webinar focused on supporting clinics, researchers, and most importantly, patients, with Long Covid and follows a recent episode back in June which focuses on sharing case studies from Long Covid services to inspire ideas on how to adapt the current NHS Long Covid offer to support a wider patient community.

We were joined by three excellent speakers:

Our first speaker was Lorraine Perry, Practitioner and Service Lead of the ME/CFS and Post Covid Assessment Services at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Lorraine presented the plans at Somerset to deliver an integrated service for ME/CFS and Long Covid, and how the proposed integrated clinical pathway would play out.

A second presentation was given by Jeremy Gee, from Airedale and Bradford NHS Trust. Jeremy shared some case studies which showcased how Airedale is adapting its Long Covid model approach to serve the wider community of people with long term conditions. Jeremy spoke specifically about the success of their self referral process, supported by ELAROS, and how it has led to improvements in referral rates in more deprived areas as well as addressing disparity in referral rates based on gender and ethnicity.

Finally, Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS, announced an invitation to English NHS Trusts to join a national service evaluation with The University of Leeds and the Clinical Post Covid Society and the launch of a standalone version of our C19-YRS app for the public.

Colleagues can contact us at c19-yrs@elaros.com to request access to the recording and slides from this webinar.

You can learn more about the speakers from the event below or on the teams page:

Lorraine Perry, Practitioner/Service Lead ME/CFS & Post Covid19 Assessment Services, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Jeremy Gee, Long Covid Clinical Pathway Co-ordinator and Community Advanced Practitioner, Airedale and Bradford NHS Foundation Trusts

Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS 24/7, Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Leeds

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ELAROS to host “Building a Long Covid Service Legacy” webinar on 26th June

Autonom-e — Sun, 05 May 2024 13:44:48 +0000

ELAROS to host upcoming webinar "Building a Long Covid Service Webinar" on 26th June

Eventbrite registration page

Attend this webinar and learn how NHS MDT services are evolving to build a legacy from Long Covid to support patients in primary, community, and care at-home across a range of conditions.

During this webinar we invite Jeremy Gee from Airedale and Bradford NHS Trusts to share insights into how their Long Covid Rehabilitation service is evolving to support: i) self-referrals, ii) a persistent symptoms service, and iii) vocational rehabilitation in stroke. This digital-first service is currently conducting pilots in these three areas to adapt the learnings from their Long Covid Service first launched in 2020 to support a wider patient group.

A second presentation will be given by Professor Manoj Sivan, President of the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (BSPRM) and the newly established Post COVID Society in collaboration with NHS England to share his aims for the new professional clinical society for Long Covid and post-viral conditions.

The webinar will be chaired by representatives from ELAROS 24/7 Ltd and University of Leeds; developers of the digital C19-YRS clinical research platform recommended by NHS England, NHS Scotland, and adopted internationally; to share case studies from other NHS Long Covid services and organisations who are adapting their approach to support patients with other chronic conditions and harder-to-reach groups in the community.

This webinar is aimed at healthcare professionals supporting patients with Long Covid and other chronic conditions such as chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and PoTS, as well as professionals working in Public Health, General Practice, Rehabilitation Medicine and associated research.

Registered attendees will be sent an event invitation nearer the time.

Recordings of the webinar can be shared with those who register but are unable to join on the day.

For further enquiries, contact the organiser: c19-yrs@elaros.com

Confirmed speakers:

Professor Manoj Sivan, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Leeds & Leeds NHS Trusts, President of the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (BSPRM) and Post Covid Society. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-manoj-sivan-md-bba92143/

Jeremy Gee, Long Covid Clinical Pathway Co-ordinator and Community Advanced Practitioner, Airedale and Bradford NHS Foundation Trusts LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-jez-gee-9ab4b2a5/

Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS 24/7 Ltd, Honorary Research Fellow at University of Leeds. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roman-rocha-lawrence/

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Long COVID Clinical Severity Types by the LOCOMOTION Consortium

Autonom-e — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:00:12 +0000

Long COVID Clinical Severity Types Based on Symptoms and Functional Disability: A Longitudinal Evaluation

Published on the 26th of March 2024 doi: 10.3390/jcm13071908

‘Long COVID Clinical Severity Types Based on Symptoms and Functional Disability: A Longitudinal Evaluation’

The abstract of the article and summary points can be read here, but for the full article, please follow any of the links above.

Abstract:

Background: Long COVID (LC) is a multisystem clinical syndrome with functional disability and compromised overall health. Information on LC clinical severity types is emerging in cross-sectional studies. This study explored the pattern and consistency of long COVID (LC) clinical severity types over time in a prospective sample.

Methods: Participants with LC completed the condition-specific outcome measure C19-YRSm (Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale modified version) at two assessment time points. A cluster analysis for clinical severity types was undertaken at both time points using the k-means partition method.

Results: The study included cross-sectional data for 759 patients with a mean age of 46.8 years (SD = 12.7), 69.4% females, and a duration of symptoms of 360 days (IQR 217 to 703 days). The cluster analysis at first assessment revealed three distinct clinical severity type clusters: mild (n = 96), moderate (n = 422), and severe (n = 241). Longitudinal data on 356 patients revealed that the pattern of three clinical severity types remained consistent over time between the two assessments, with 51% of patients switching clinical severity types between the assessments.

Conclusions: This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that the pattern of three clinical severity types is consistent over time, with patients also switching between severity types, indicating the fluctuating nature of LC.

Keywords:

SARS-CoV-2; post-COVID-19 condition; post-COVID-19 syndrome; C19-YRS; phenotypes; LOCOMOTION

Authors:

Manoj Sivan
Adam B Smith
Thomas Osborne
Madeline Goodwin
Román Rocha Lawrence
Sareeta Baley
Paul Williams
Cassie Lee
Helen Davies
Kumuran Balasundaram
Darren C. Greenwood

on behalf of the LOCOMOTION Consortium

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Long Covid patient reported app helps overcome socio-economic barriers

Autonom-e — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 12:00:35 +0000

Long Covid patient reported app helps overcome socio-economic barriers

Article published on the 19th of January 2024 by the University of Leeds on the future of digital PROMs.

‘Long COVID reported app helps overcome socio-economic barriers’

A summary of the article and summary points can be read here, but for the full article, please follow the link above.

Summary:

Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding gave Dr Manoj Sivan the opportunity to overcome socio-economic barriers between medicine and social sciences. He employed a research fellow (Román Rocha Lawrence – ELAROS Director of Research and Development) to help develop a knowledge-sharing app for patients managing Long Covid symptoms at home.

Dr Manoj Sivan made it clear that ‘Long Covid is a public health problem, and our digital platform means we can reach people in the community outside of a clinical environment. Interdisciplinary work with LSSI, therefore, is vital, as we can step beyond a medical setting to deliver resources and care for people in their homes’

The article went on to say that IAA funding was able to provide the knowledge exchange element, which made developing the digital app for public use a truly collaborative effort.

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Psychometric analysis of the modified Covid-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale

Autonom-e — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 12:00:29 +0000

Psychometric analysis of the modified C19-YRSm in a prospective multicentre study

Published on the 3rd of January 2024 doi: 10.1101/2023.12.22.23300424

‘Psychometric analysis of the modified Covid-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRSm) in a prospective multicentre study’

The abstract of the article and summary points can be read here, but for the full article, please follow any of the links above.

Abstract:

Background: Long COVID is a novel multisystem clinical syndrome affecting millions of individuals worldwide. The modified COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRSm) is a condition-specific patient-reported outcome measure designed for assessment and monitoring of people with Long COVID (LC).

Objectives: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the C19-YRSm in a prospective sample of people with Long COVID.

Methods 1314 patients attending UK specialist Long COVID clinics completed C19-YRSm and EQ-5D-5L longitudinally. Scale characteristics were derived for C19-YRSm subscales (Symptom Severity, SS; Functional Disability, FD; and Overall Health, OH) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). Convergent validity was assessed using the FACIT-Fatigue scale. Known groups validity was assessed for the Other Symptoms (OS) subscale as tertiles, hospitalisation and intensive care admission. Responsiveness and test-retest reliability was evaluated for C19-YRSm subscales and EQ-5D-5L. The minimal important difference (MID) and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were estimated. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to determine the instrument’s two-factor structure.

Results: C19-YRSm demonstrated good scale characteristic properties. Item-total correlations were between 0.37 to 0.65 (for SS and FD), with good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alphas >0.8). Item correlations between subscales ranged between 0.46 to 0.72. Convergent validity with FACIT was good (−0.46 to −0.62). The three subscales discriminated between different levels of symptom burden (p<0.001), and between patients admitted to hospital and intensive care. There was moderate responsiveness for the three subscales ranging from 0.22 (OH) to 0.50 (SS) and was greater than the EQ-5D-5L. Test-retest reliability was good for both SS 0.86 and FD 0.78. MID was 2 for SS, 2 for FD, and 1 for OH; MCID was 4 for both the SS and FD. The factor analysis supported the two-factor SS and FD structure.

Conclusions: The C19-YRSm is a condition-specific, reliable, valid, and responsive patient-reported outcome measure for Long COVID.

What is already known on this topic: Long Covid or Post-COVID-19 syndrome is a multisystem, fluctuating condition. C19-YRSm is literature’s first condition-specific patient reported outcome measure which needed validation in a large population sample.

What this study adds: C19-YRSm is a valid, reliable, responsive and easy to administer measure which is able to show clinically meaningful change in the status of the condition in people living with Long Covid.

How this study might affect research, practice or policy: C19-YRSm can be used in clinical and research settings to reliably capture the condition trajectory and the effect of interventions and also help inform clinical policy.

Authors:

Adam B. Smith
Darren C. Greenwood
Mike Horton
Thomas Osbourne
Madeline Goodwin
Román Rocha Lawrence
Darren Wince
Ruadiridh Milne
LOCOMOTION Consortium
Manoj Sivan

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