Understanding Pathways of Care for People with Multiple Long-Term Conditions in NHS Hospital Care

Project Overview

This project focuses on understanding how people with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) experience hospital care and the decision-making processes by healthcare professionals. The research explores the common issue that care pathways remain focused on single-organ diseases, despite MLTC becoming increasingly prevalent among hospital inpatients.

The project is conducted in partnership with leading NIHR research groups such as the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria, the HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Diagnostic and Technology Evaluation, and the Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). These collaborations provide an interdisciplinary training environment and access to diverse datasets.

What You Will Do

You will have methodological flexibility, choosing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Possible tasks include analyzing electronic health records for social determinants and multimorbidity clusters, advanced statistical modeling to identify high-risk profiles, re-analyzing qualitative data, developing decision-support tools based on routine data, and potentially collecting new data. Patient and public involvement is integral to the research process.

Expected Outcomes

The project aims to generate actionable insights to reshape NHS hospital care pathways for people with MLTC. It intends to identify unmet needs, help develop scalable decision-support tools, and improve the management of multimorbidity in hospital settings, ultimately contributing to integrated care delivery models aligned with NHS priorities.

Why This Matters

Given the rising prevalence of MLTC among hospital patients, improving care pathways is essential to enhance patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Current single-condition-focused pathways do not adequately address the complexity of MLTC. This research will inform policy and practice, supporting more holistic and effective care for complex patient needs.