Dr Stuart Tan and his team of four Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District clinicians are calling for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to participate in a research study about the ongoing longer term health impacts of the virus.

The study is being carried out in the Illawarra, however it is open to people living anywhere in Australia.

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"Anecdotal reports and some studies from overseas show individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 seem to still have ongoing health issues," Dr Tan said.

"We want to find out what are the long term implications, what proportions of people who tested positive have the complications and how long does it takes them to recover and get back to their pre-COVID function.

"Our current understanding, from other studies, is that the virus affects multiple organs in the body including the lungs, heart, brain, liver, kidneys and more.

"We are trying to get the complete picture of the physical complications and mental health status of individuals over a six-month period.

"COVID-19 is a new medical condition so the knowledge about the virus is evolving and we need to find out more."

Dr Tan said the recruitment process had begun, with a number of participants, who had tested positive and were in the recovery phase, already registered from across Australia.

"The more participants we have, the more meaningful the study will be and the more knowledge we will gain," he said.

Participants have to provide a medical history so researchers can investigate how medications or pre-existing conditions relate to COVID-19.

"It is an online study," Dr Tan said. "Participants will answer survey questions and we will use validated instruments to measure their functional and mental health status.

"As soon as they enroll, we find out their health status, then we will do follow-ups at one, three and six months.

"We will be recruiting over the next 12 months as it will be an ongoing study."

Dr Tan said his team are aiming to reveal the early results of the study following the three-month results.

For more information and to register, call 0459 887 682 or visit the COVID-19 Outcome Study on the district's website.

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