The experiences of multimorbidity patients regarding treatment burden
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Chronology in multimorbidity clustering and its effect on treatment burden and the utilisation of health and social care services
IRAS ID
303638
Contact name
Lucy Kaluvu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
STHK 2122-005, Sponsorship reference number
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Multimorbidity, which is termed as the co-occurence of two or more long-term chronic conditions within an individual, is a major public health challenge in the United Kingdom (UK). Multimorbidity is mainly driven by age, with two in every three individuals aged 65 years and above having multimorbidity. Compared to those living in affluent areas, the onset of multimorbidity is a decade earlier in individuals aged <45 years living in deprived areas. There is also a rising physical-mental multimorbidity burden among this sub-population owing to an increase in the prevalence of mental health conditions and a strong association between multimorbidity and lifestyle factors such as tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. Most studies have examined multimorbidity based on disease clusters, with mental health and cardio-metabolic clusters being linked to the younger and older demographics respectively. Multimorbidity patients are the highest users of health and social care services, having the highest rates of unplanned hospital admissions and ambulatory service use. They also experience a high treatment burden owing to challenges with access to care, fragmented coordination of care, multiple medication regimens and challenges with self management.
The main aim of the study will be to explore the experiences of patients with multimorbidity and how treatment burden might differ among those from different multimorbidity clusters. A qualitative study with a phenomenological methodological approach will be undertaken. At least 20 study participants from high impact clusters will be purposively sampled, and semi-structured interviews conducted. The St Helens borough in the North West of England is the selected study setting. Compared to the South, the North regions have higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy. Study findings will highlight the challenges with treatment burden faced by multimorbidity patients in St Helens borough and social care utilisation within multimorbidity management, an area whose evidence base is limited.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0024
Date of REC Opinion
5 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion