Table 3.

Barriers and Facilitators of Recovery at the System-, Clinician-, and Individual-Levels with Exemplary Quotes

	Barriers	Facilitators
System-level	• Transportation • High insurance co-pays, lack of insurance coverage for rehabilitation needs • Misinformation in the media • Interruption of home care during early pandemic	• Insurance coverage • Telemedicine video appointments • Automated hospital discharge follow-up
	Yeah. I wished I had more therapy… It wasn’t their fault. It’s just that the COVID, so they wasn’t allowed to come back into the homes no more. (Participant 3)	Well, I guess I’m more willing to call the doctors now because the insurance that I have makes it more affordable, where before I would not necessarily go to the doc…even if I should have because money was a part of it.
Clinician-level	• Clinicians dismissing persistent COVID-19 symptoms • Prioritization of physical well-being over psychological well-being	• Clinician trust, e.g., having clinicians who the patient can trust • Patient trust, e.g., having clinicians who trust patients or take patient concerns seriously • Increased clinician access via patient messaging portals
	Emotionally, I probably need to see a therapist. It’s been suggested. A friend of mine said, ‘You might have long haulers’, and I don’t mean physically either. Long haulers emotional... I probably could benefit from therapy. Really I haven’t looked into it, how to go about it, would my health insurance pay for it? I don’t know, you know. That probably would help, but as I said I’m tired. (Participant 9)	[My doctor] shared a lot with me. You know how they tell you, ‘Make sure you do this. Make sure you do that. Don’t worry about this. That’ll pass.’ Like the anxiety, ‘That’ll pass.’…Medical advice is good. Medical advice the best, besides spiritually. Those are the two things I can really say. (Participant 10)
Individual-level	• Lack of knowledge, specifically regarding what types of clinicians to see for persistent COVID-19 symptoms, how to access subspecialty care or rehabilitation services • Lack of familial support system	• Supportive friends and family • Increased personal agency, e.g., taking on a more active role in healthcare • Increased attention to diet, exercise, and medication adherence • Faith, religion, spirituality • Attitude shift/gratitude
	Oh, they don’t support me with my health at all, because they smoke. They smoke marijuana, and they smoke too much marijuana…it bothers my lungs. (Participant 6)	It made you look at life where you appreciate and you don’t take anything for granted…I want to experience some things on my bucket list…It’s no more, ‘I’ll get around to it.’ It’s no more going to bed angry…Because you just might not wake up. (Participant 21)