Self-management in multimorbidity

background

Multi-morbidity has been described as the most common chronic condition in adults. The rise of multi-morbidity, its associated burden on population health (e.g. increased mortality and lower quality of life), healthcare budget (e.g. high use of healthcare services) and society (e.g. reduced productivity) requires a deeper understanding of multi-morbidity in order to effectively design and deliver health services. Although there is vast evidence that patient self-management is essential in the management of chronic conditions, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of self-management interventions for people with multi-morbidity is largely unknown. 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, RESEARCH METHODS AND TRAINING

Using mixed-methods in an observational study of people with multi-morbidity, this project will investigate a) the level of self-management, b) the provided health and social care services that support self-management in the UK, and c) the association between level of self-management and health and social care costs. This will be done by

-          conducting a systematic review of the evidence on outcomes and costs of self-management in people with multi-morbidity

-          interviewing professional stakeholders and people with multi-morbidity about self-management support provided by health and social services, strategies and skills employed, and the associated costs to set-up and deliver these support services

-          conducting an electronic survey with patients to investigate their level of self-management, received support, quality of life, and healthcare resource use.

There will be opportunities to learn about mixed methods research (including various aspects of qualitative and quantitative methods), applied health care research and health economics. Patient-reported outcome measurement (PROMs) and their use research will be a strong feature of this project. There will be opportunities to attend training courses for example on online data collection, qualitative methods, health economics and statistics. Patient and public involvement (PPI) will feature strongly to ensure the project addresses issues of importance to patients.

FIELD WORK, SECONDMENTS, INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS AND TRAINING 

The project will be conducted as a collaboration between the Health Services Research Unit and the Health Economics Research Centre, both units within NDPH. 

prospective candidate

The successful candidate should ideally have experience of conducting qualitative research, health economics, and surveys (including data analysis). Knowledge of medical sociology/health psychology, health services and patient-reported outcomes research would be an advantage.