Complex Care and Multimorbidity (MSc)

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Critically analyse the different psychological, sociological, and complex interventions that can be used to support and empower those with a long-term condition to take on a more active role in their conditions management, drawing on their own expertise and lived experienced.
• Critically consider the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of complex care, including their relevance to shared care and decision making.
• Critique and apply the communication skills required to care for people and their families/carers in a variety of complex, changing and sensitive healthcare situations.
• Critique and apply an in-depth knowledge of the aetiology, treatment and care needs of those with a range of complex chronic conditions and multi-morbidity, alongside your own knowledge of pathophysiological processes to promote understanding and support patient education.
• Critique and apply principles of human factors to understand how health systems could be designed to support people with complex needs.
• Critically consider the role of the multi-disciplinary team, including across care settings, in meeting peoples increasingly complex health needs, including those living with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy.

Complex care and complex health systems and systems thinking: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to explore what is meant by complex care. This will involve consideration as to the key demographic, epidemiological, societal and behavioral changes that have contributed to people living longer, and with more complex chronic health and social needs. The role of healthcare systems, how they are set up, and how sustainable they are in the context of this will also be explored. This will include in depth consideration of integrated care, complex case management, virtual wards, preventing admission and dependency teams and the role they have to meeting the needs of people presenting with complex needs. Chronic disease will be considered through a medical deficit model, as well as through positive social models of health, such as the capabilities approach. Chronic condition management: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to explore nursing and medical care in the context of some of the most common chronic physical and mental health conditions, such as diabetes (type 1 and 2), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, stroke, Parkinson¡¯s, MS, depression, addiction, hepatological diseases, HIV/AIDS, ulcerative colitis, Crohn¡¯s, different types of cancer, ME/CFS, and long covid, as well as multi-morbidity. The impact of mental health on physical health and vice versa will be explored, alongside wider biopsychosocial impacts. As part of this, students will have the opportunity to look at a series of case studies, consider the etiology, and appropriateness of a range of interventions in meeting chronic needs, as well as acute needs these conditions can present. Self-management support and lived experience: In this theme, students will have unpacked the history and context of self-management support and how this has impacted on how care is thought about, organized and delivered, both within a UK context, and through drawing on examples from elsewhere, including resource constrained environments. Opportunities to consider and critique well known self-management programmes will be provided, alongside opportunities to discuss their evidence base. The relevance of people¡¯s broader social networks and social support will be covered, as will the increasing role of the community and third sector in meeting the needs of those with chronic illness and complexity in their communities and predominantly around their needs and values. Digital self-management support will also be considered. Finally, this theme will allow an in-depth exploration of people¡¯s own narratives and experiences living with chronic ill health and complexity in the context of their everyday lives, considering their burden of disease, and burden of treatment. Assessing and managing complex health needs in the community: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to consider managing complex care in the community. This will involve consideration of physical assessment and history taking. It will also involve an in-depth exploration of specialist nursing roles in the community, including district nursing teams, primary care teams, integrated care teams covering a range of different specialties (including frailty), community matrons, preventing dependency and admission avoidance teams, and hospital at home services. In this theme students will have the opportunity to work through a series of case studies, to help to build a concreate knowledge and understanding that can be applied to different needs, whilst recognizing the importance of shared care, decision making, and positive risk taking. Assessing and managing complex health needs in acute care settings: In this theme, students will have the opportunity to consider managing complex care in acute care settings, as well as at the intersection of acute and community care services. This will involve consideration of physical assessment and history taking. It will also involve an in-depth exploration of specialist nursing roles in the context of complexity in acute care settings, such as specialist nursing teams. In this theme, the discharge process will be explored in the context of a series of case studies, and the relevance of MDT discharge planning and coordination will be considered in depth. This will build knowledge of the different needs, priorities and interventions that are needed to meet increasingly complex needs in acute care settings.

This module will be taught using a variety of learning and teaching approaches including: ? Lectures ? Seminars ? Guided independent study

Formative

This is how we¡¯ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Case Study Analysis

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback:
• Final Assessment:
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we¡¯ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we¡¯ll assess you if you don¡¯t meet the criteria to pass this module.