Managing Multimorbidity (Multiple Chronic Diseases) Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: A Community Based Study From Odisha, India

While most of the studies to date demonstrate the deleterious effect of multiple chronic diseases on COVID-19 risk and outcome, there is sparse information available on the effect of the pandemic on multimorbidity management, with no reports yet from India. We sought to explore the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on routine and emergency care for multimorbidity among community-dwelling adults in Odisha, India. A community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken pandemic lockdown, in Khurda district of Odisha, India. Around 600 individuals having at least one chronic disease residing in rural, urban residential and slums were interviewed using a specifically developed questionnaire MAQ COVID-19. The association of socio-demographic characteristics and multimorbidity with pandemic-related care challenges was examined by multiple logistic regression. Principal Component Analysis was employed to minimize the dimensionality of factors related to multimorbidity care. Multimorbidity was highly prevalent in younger age group (46–60 years) with cardio-metabolic clusters being dominant. Individuals with multimorbidity experienced significantly higher care challenges than those with single condition (AOR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.01–2.05) with notable disruption in treatment and routine check-up. Most frequently cited concerns were—physician consultation (43%), diagnostic-services (26%), transport (33%), and mobility restrictions (21%). Multivariate analysis revealed older adults living alone in urban residence to have higher challenges than their rural counterparts. Patient activation for self-care, multimorbidity literacy, and technology-enabled tele-consultation could be explored as potential interventions. Future studies should qualitatively explore the challenges of physicians as well as garner an in-depth understanding of multimorbidity management in the vulnerable subgroups.