Multi-Provincial Surveillance Systems for Post-COVID-19 Condition and Outcomes (MSPCo)

Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) or Long COVID is a characterized by the presence of ongoing,
relapsing or occurrence of new symptoms which persist for 30 days or more after acute infection.
There is an urgent need to characterize the burden of long COVID; understand the healthcare needs
of people living with long COVID; and inform optimal models to deliver care, assess and address
disparities, and assess health outcomes. However, addressing these knowledge gaps is hampered
by the lack of standard definitions and methods to accurately identify people living with long COVID
in population-based administrative health data.

This project will address these gaps by developing a surveillance system to track burden of PCC,
identify factors contributing to development of long COVID, identify healthcare gaps, and long-term
outcomes related to COVID-19. We will conduct survey to learn about experience of people who had
COVID-19. In addition, we will analyze healthcare administrative data to answer critical questions to
inform optimal care for long COVID.

This initiative, while centered in British Columbia, will contribute to development and application of
algorithm across Canada. The grant will play a critical role in advancing research on long COVID,
informing care strategies, and contributing to public health e􀆯orts in managing post-COVID-19
health challenges.

The project is supported through funding from The Michael Smith Health Research BC and the Public
Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Program (ESCDP). This
project is being led by Dr. Naveed Janjua. Dr. Janjua is an epidemiologist, the Executive Director of
Data and Analytic Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and a Clinical Professor at the
School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia.