Outcome measures for MLTCs

Why the research is needed?

When a person has more than one long-term health condition this is known as ‘multiple long-term conditions’ (MLTCs). More and more people are living with MLTCs and this isn’t good as MLTCs reduce people’s quality of life and how long someone lives. Because of how important this area of research is lots of researchers are carrying out research to help manage and prevent MLTCs. However, they don’t all use the same outcome measures and this makes the research not as helpful as it could be.

What is already known about the subject?

Lots of systematic reviews have been carried out in this area of research however they all focus on slightly different outcomes across lots of different settings making it difficult to summarise the findings. When this happens, we can carry out an umbrella review and this allows us to compare and put together the findings from all of the reviews which can be of more help to researchers.

Who we will be working with? 

We will be working with a team of researchers that include experts in MLTCs and statisticians, who are free of potential conflicts of interest.

How patients and the public are involved?

Patients and the public will be involved at the start at the end of the research. We will invite patients and public members to a meeting beforehand to help refine our research question and another at the end to find out how we can the results of the research out to as many people as possible.

What we will do?

Following a series of pre-defined steps, we will gather all of the available evidence on the topic. Part of this will involve searching multiple databases online. Once we have the evidence the research team will work together to analyse it and present the finds in a clear and concise way.  

What the benefits will be?

When MLTC outcome measures align across studies we can understand causes and interaction better, make treatments more effective, and improve the overall health of people living with MLTC. Overall, this makes the research a lot more helpful than when outcome measures don’t align.

When the findings will be available?

The findings of our research should be available early 2026.

How we are planning for implementation?

We will disseminate our findings through multiple existing avenues including: NIHR communications team, University of Leicester press office, PPI members. We plan to create an infographic summarising our research findings in lay terms, making them easy to understand. 

Contact

Dr Lauren O’Mahoney, Research Associate, llom1@leicester.ac.uk.