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By Susan Smith
The limited evidence of the effectiveness of interventions for people with multimorbidity means that there is a need for much more research and trials of potential interventions [1]. We have just published a paper in the Journal of Comorbidity presenting a consensus view from a group of international researchers working to guide future studies of interventions to improve outcomes for people with multimorbidity [2]. We suggest that there is a need for careful consideration of whom to include, how to target interventions that address specific problems and that do not add to treatment burden, and selecting outcomes that matter both to patients and the healthcare system. Innovative design of these interventions will be necessary as many will be introduced in service settings and it will be important to ensure methodological rigour, relevance to service delivery, and generalizability across healthcare systems.
I would welcome any contact from research teams conducting evaluations of interventions for multimorbidity as these could potentially be included in the next update of the Cochrane Review of such interventions.
[1] Smith SM, Soubhi H, Fortin M, Hudon C, O’Dowd T. Interventions for improving outcomes in patients with multimorbidity in primary care and community settings. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2):CD003638. 2012;4:CD006560.
[2] Smith SM, Bayliss EA, Mercer SW, et al. How to design and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes for patients with multimorbidity. Journal of Comorbidity. 2013;3:10-17.