NI Multi-morbidity Cohort (NIMC). Measures of multi-morbidity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Northern Ireland Multi-morbidity Cohort (NIMC): Measures of multi-morbidity and its impact on mortality.
IRAS ID
290348
Contact name
Dermot O'Reilly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Multi-morbidity is generally defined in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the presence in one individual of two or more long-term health conditions. This approach has been widely used over the years and especially in the latter years by both the research and governmental community. However, this measure is also highly criticised for its limitation in understanding the effect certain health conditions have on individuals and for the mere count of health conditions.
This project is one part of a national programme funded by HDR-UK where six different longitudinal, curated data resources known as research-ready datasets across the UK will be prepared. This project aims to provide a clear conceptualisation of multi-morbidity, definitions of what morbidities to count and how to count them; reproducibility of findings across the multiple data sources; and consideration of longitudinal data to better understand trajectories of morbidity accrual and clustering. Patients will be followed up until they die, the end of the study (31 December 2018) or they leave the coverage area of the data sources. This UK-wide project collaboration includes scientists from many different institutions and disciplines, clinicians, and members of the public from across the UK to create a broader team science approach in addressing this complex subject. The findings will allow researchers and health care workers to better plan how to deliver care to people with various types of multi-morbidities.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0011
Date of REC Opinion
22 Dec 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion