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.