Multimorbidity Management: A scoping review of comprehensive interventions for multimorbidity outcomes

Background Multimorbidity, defined as the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions in an individual, has emerged as a worldwide public health concern contributing to mortality and morbidity. With a prevalence estimated at 37% globally, this complex health phenomenon is increasingly affecting populations as they age. Despite the growing burden of multimorbidity, the development and implementation of interventions published by scholars are still in their early stages with significant variability in strategies and outcomes.

The review aims to synthesize interventions designed to manage and mitigate multimorbidity and explore a range of approaches, including pharmacological treatments, lifestyle modifications, care coordination models, and technological innovations.

The scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. It included about 1,227,906 individuals with multimorbidity, with 199,413 being male (16.2%) and 1,028,493 (83.8%) female participants. Multimorbidity interventions were defined as strategies or programs designed to manage and improve the health and quality of life of individuals with multiple chronic conditions.

The final analysis included 101 articles from 3119 published between 2012 and 2024. Themes on the need for lifestyle and behavioural interventions, patient empowerment and engagement, multimorbidity management, health integration, pharmacotherapy optimization, community and policy interventions, healthcare system improvements, technology and digital health, as well as research and evidence-based practice interventions, emerged.

The reviewed literature emphasizes the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches to effectively combat the escalating pandemic of multimorbidity. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement The work reported herein was made possible through funding by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) through its South African Population Research Infrastructure Network under the Nodal PhD Fellowship Programme; from funding received from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. The content hereof is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the SAMRC. Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript