By Stewart Mercer
The challenge of multimorbidity – what can we learn from cohort studies?
This one day meeting was organised by Professor Stewart Mercer, Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Glasgow, who leads a national research programme on multimorbidity in Scotland with the Scottish School of Primary Care.
The morning seminar, which was the inaugural event of the newly established Institute of Health and Well-being at the University of Glasgow, and was chaired by Professor Sally Wyke, welcomed Professor Jane Gunn from Melbourne University, who is Visiting Professor with the Scottish School of Primary Care, who described her work over several years on the DIAMOND primary care cohort on depression and multimorbidity. Professor Martin Fortin from Sherbrooke University in Canada, then described the cohort studies he has recently been involved in setting up in primary care in Canada with Professor Jeannie Haggerty. This was followed by Professor Frances Mair, Head of the Academic Unit of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Glasgow, who spoke of the treatment burden in multimorbidity, and the need for ‘minimally disruptive medicine.’ Finally, Professor Mercer described work to date on multimorbidity in Scotland, and work in progress in developing the MALT (Multiple and Long-Term conditions) cohort in Scotland.
The afternoon consisted of a workshop to discuss multimorbidity cohort studies further, and the MALT Cohort development. Attendees included experts from Scotland, Ireland, England, as well as our morning speakers. The need for cohort studies on multimorbidity was agreed, based on simple models, and as far as possible based on collaboration between countries. The lack of evidence on multimorbid patients’ views and experiences of health and healthcare was a strong theme of the afternoon. It was agreed that those at the workshop would continue to debate these issues collaboratively.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable and stimulating meeting and we look forward to seeing more guests in the future at our next ‘Glasgow Meeting’ on interventions in multimorbidity in March next year.
University of Glasgow