Mixed evidence on interventions for improving outcomes in patients with multimorbidity

Overall, the results regarding the effectiveness of interventions were mixed. There were no clear positive improvements in clinical outcomes, health service use, medication adherence, patient-related health behaviours, health professional behaviours or costs. There were modest improvements in mental health outcomes from 7 studies that targeted people with depression and in functional outcomes from 2 studies targeting functional difficulties in participants. Overall, the results indicate it is difficult to improve outcomes for people with multiple conditions. The review suggests interventions that are designed to target specific risk factors (for example, treatment for depression) or interventions that focus on difficulties people experience with daily functioning (for example, physiotherapy treatment to improve capacity for physical activity) may be more effective.