Journal Of Comorbidity Research Articles

Home care rehabilitation therapy services for individuals with multimorbidity: A rapid review.

Multimorbidity refers to the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions, where no one disease is considered the central disease. Individuals with multimorbidity experience increased patient health complexity, increased disability and functional decline, and increased health care utilization. Rehabilitation therapists are well positioned to address the complex functional needs that can contribute to disability for people living with multimorbidity; however, it is not well understood how they address these needs within the home care setting. A rapid review was conducted to identify and synthesize the existing literature on home care rehabilitation services for clients with multimorbidity and the effect of those services. Two electronic databases (Medline and CINAHL) were searched. The Journal of Comorbidity was hand-searched for thoroughness because this journal focuses on populations with multiple chronic conditions. This rapid review included observational and experimental studies that focused on rehabilitation therapy interventions embedded within existing home care systems for adults with multimorbidity. Four studies were included in the final review. The results revealed that therapists delivered interventions aimed towards improving functional outcomes related to activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Physical therapy interventions were the only therapy delivered in three of the four studies included. Furthermore, 50% of these studies explicitly included people with chronic conditions impacting the musculoskeletal system only. This review offers an important perspective on how home care rehabilitation therapy interventions and outcomes are operationalized for individuals with multimorbidity. Despite the varying definitions of multimorbidity, therapeutic intervention supported functional improvements.

ACC/AHA Key Data Elements and Definitions for Measuring the Clinical Management and Outcomes of Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Table of Contents 1. Uses for HF Data Standards 1892 2. Balance Between Focus and Comprehensiveness 1893 3. Balance Between “Primary” and “Summary” Data Elements 1893 4. Variety of Disease States Leading to HF 1893 5. Acute and Chronic Care, Inpatient and Outpatient Care Venues 1893 6. Therapy for HF 1893 7. Outcomes Assessment for HF 1893 1. III. HF Clinical Data Standards Elements and Definitions 1893 The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recognize …

An empirical literature review of definitions of severe and persistent mental illness

Seventeen definitions of the severely and persistently mentally ill have appeared in the literature over the past decade. These definitions have been used by 13 authors to formulate service programs and to estimate the prevalence of serious mental illness in the population. To test the applicability of these definitions, the authors operationalized each definition and applied it to a representative sample of 222 patients receiving services in one of Philadelphia's inner-city neighborhoods. The analysis showed estimates of prevalence of serious mental illness ranging from 4% to 88% of the treated population, depending on the definition applied. The NIMH (1987) definition was representative of the middle-range estimates of 45% to 55% arrived at by eight authors.