Validation of an English-language Multimorbidity Questionniare

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Validation of an English-language version of the Multimorbidity Questionnaire in Primary Care

  • IRAS ID

    325125

  • Contact name

    Stewart Mercer

  • Contact email

    stewart.mercer@ed.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    NHS Lothian

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    AC22015, Sponsor number

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 7 months, 4 days

  • Research summary

    Multimorbidity (multiple long-term conditions within an individual patient) presents a significant challenge to health services and is a growing focus of health science research, but the evidence-base for managing patients with multimorbidity in primary care is limited. Many of the studies conducted have shown little in the way of effectiveness. One reason for this may be the selection of outcome measures developed for single-disease research. Studies looking at quality of life as an outcome have relied on generic instruments which may be inadequate when holistically assessing the problems faced by people with multimorbidity. To date there are no validated tools available in the UK that are designed to measure quality of life in patients with multimorbidity.

    A team of researchers at Copenhagen University have developed and validated a Danish language Multimorbidity Questionnaire (MMQ) measuring quality of life in patients with multiple conditions. The aim of this project is to adapt and validate an English-language version of the Multimorbidity Questionnaire, in collaboration with the Danish team.

    The adaptation of the questionnaire will be informed by a panel session with a patient and public involvement (PPI) group. A survey, which will include the MMQ alongside other widely used outcome measures, will then be conducted on patients with multiple long-term conditions registered at GP practices in areas of high, low and mixed deprivation. Preliminary validation and reliability analyses will be conducted on the MMQ. The data will be explored to look for correlation between the MMQ and other measures, as well as to compare the quality of life of multimorbid patients across deprivation groups.

    This project not only seeks to validate a novel outcome measure to facilitate future research on multimorbidity in primary care, but will add to the literature on the impact of multimorbidity on individuals and its relationship with socioeconomic status.

  • REC name

    North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    23/NE/0053

  • Date of REC Opinion

    20 Mar 2023

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion