Comorbid Disease and Multiple Morbidity in an Aging Society Conference
March 2-4, 2005, Atlanta, GA
Supported by: The National Institute on Aging, the John A. Hartford Foundation, and the American Geriatrics Society.
About the Conference
As the population ages, clinicians in everyday practice are increasingly confronted with problems of diseases, impairments or conditions complicating diagnosis and treatment of an index condition, and as well as the management challenge of multiple morbidities or overall disease burden in their patients. Nevertheless, applicable conceptual work and empirical research on the nature, impact and management of co-morbid conditions has lagged. This conference sought to provide an understanding of the state of the field and of findings in other fields that may be applicable to research on geriatric comorbidity, and through this, lay the basis for a new generation of research. The ultimate outcome of the conference helped to develop and then translate research results into clinical care that would improve the health outcomes of older adults. (see Conference Agenda).
The conference objectives were to: (1) to more fully define the public health (population-based) and clinical problem of multiple comorbidity as indicated by the evidence; (2) to lend better (but not necessarily consensus) conceptual definition to the problems of multiple comorbidity and its relationship to aging, frailty, and disability, as well as adverse clinical outcomes; (3) to identify a variety of related research areas and questions (propose an agenda); and (4) to consider various methodological challenges and approaches in pursuing the agenda.
Conference Report
*denotes NIH Representative
