By François Schellevis
On the occasion of the stay of prof. Martin Fortin in the Netherlands, we organised on April 27th, 2011 a Masterclass on Multimorbidity Research under the auspices of the Dutch Primary Care Research School “CaRe”. CaRe represents the cooperation between the departments of general practice of three Dutch universities and NIVEL, the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (www.researchschoolcare.nl). We used this opportunity to bring together researchers working on different multimorbidity issues. It was unique experience with a very fruitful exchange and discussions with prof. Fortin, the “Master”, and with colleagues.
The Masterclass started with a presentation of prof. Fortin about Multimorbidity research in Canada. Research is focused on three themes: conceptual issues (including how to measure multimorbidity), the epidemiology of multimorbidity, and interventions focusing on improving health and health care. After this, four researchers from each CaRe partner presented their work, followed by a discussion with the audience. Mrs. Ruth van Nispen (EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam) showed how multimorbidity affects the quality of life of severely impaired visually handicapped persons. Mrs. Sil Aarts (CAPHRI/MENS, University of Maastricht) discussed the issue of measuring the physical and mental aspects of quality of life in multimorbid patients in general practice. Mrs. Annemarie Uijen (Department of Primary Care, St Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen) presented the development of a generic questionnaire to measure continuity of care among multimorbid patients in different care settings. Finally, Mrs. Nathalie Versnel (NIVEL, Utrecht and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam) presented the design of a randomized controlled trial to establish the effectiveness of case management in diabetes patients with comorbidity.
All participants were very positive about the Masterclass which provided many new insights into research issues regarding multimorbidity. They considered the setting of a Masterclass with an expert from abroad and discussions in a small group of colleagues working on comparable issues as very fruitful. We were very grateful to prof. Fortin for providing us with this opportunity.
