Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
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Link workers providing social prescribing and health and social care coordination for people with multimorbidity in socially deprived areas (the LinkMM trial): protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

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posted on 2022-08-11, 15:28 authored by Bridget KielyBridget Kiely, Barbara ClyneBarbara Clyne, Fiona BolandFiona Boland, Patrick O'Donnell, Deirdre Connolly, Eamon O'Shea, Susan SmithSusan Smith

Introduction: Link workers are non-health or social care professionals based in primary care who support people to develop and achieve a personalised set of health and social goals by engaging with community resources. Link workers have been piloted in areas of deprivation, but there remains insufficient evidence to support their effectiveness. Multimorbidity is increasing in prevalence, but there are limited evidence-based interventions. This paper presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will test the effectiveness of link workers based in general practices in deprived areas in improving health outcomes for people with multimorbidity.

Methods and analysis: The protocol presents the proposed pragmatic RCT, involving 10 general practitioner (GP) practices and 600 patients. Eligible participants will be community dwelling adults with multimorbidity (≥two chronic conditions) identified as being suitable for referral to a practice-based link worker. Following baseline data collection, the patients will be randomised into intervention group that will meet the link worker over a1-month period, or a 'wait list' control that will receive usual GP care. Primary outcomes are health-related quality of life as assessed by EQ-5D-5L and mental health assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Secondary outcomes are based on the core outcome set for multimorbidity. Data will be collected at baseline and on intervention completion at 1 month using questionnaires self-completed by participants and GP records. Parallel process and economic analyses will be conducted to explore participants' experiences and examine cost-effectiveness of the link worker intervention.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the Irish College of General Practitioners Ethics Committee. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number: ISRCTN10287737;Pre-results.

Funding

Health Research Board Ireland (Grant reference HRB CDA 2018 Reference CDA-2018-003)

Department of Health Slaintecare Integration Fund (Grant reference PCC-ID24)

History

Comments

The original article is available at https://bmjopen.bmj.com/

Published Citation

Kiely B. et al. Link workers providing social prescribing and health and social care coordination for people with multimorbidity in socially deprived areas (the LinkMM trial): protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2021;11(2):e041809

Publication Date

1 February 2021

PubMed ID

33526499

Department/Unit

  • Data Science Centre
  • General Practice
  • HRB Centre for Primary Care Research

Research Area

  • Population Health and Health Services

Publisher

BMJ

Version

  • Published Version (Version of Record)