"I loved before, but now I love even more." Qualitative study of posttraumatic growth as a consequence of severe COVID-19 experience in Slovak adults

Abstract

Introduction: The results indicate that post-traumatic growth does indeed occur after overcoming the severe form of COVID-19. It suggests that this posttraumatic growth most often occurred through a reassessment of priorities and an appreciation of life itself and loved ones. COVID-19 disease has been one of the most discussed and researched topics for several years, as it dramatically affects everyone's daily life.

Methods: The qualitative study presented here focuses on health psychology, especially post-traumatic growth after overcoming a severe form of the COVID-19 disease. We worked with adult people who had either been treated in the intensive care unit or had been hospitalized with severe pneumonia.

Results: Thematic analysis was used to determine categories and subcategories. The study presented here contributes to knowledge about the COVID-19 experience by mapping a Slovakian sample of adult participants.

Discussion: The results obtained by Thematic analysis help us better understand how people experience the disease, especially those who have overcome a severe form of the disease and thus had a borderline experience when their lives were directly threatened, as well as their overall health.

Keywords: COVID-19; adults; health psychology; posttraumatic growth; thematic analysis.