Health complexity assessment in primary care: A validity and feasibility study of the INTERMED tool.

BACKGROUND: Health complexity includes biological, psychological, social, and health systems. Having complex health needs is associated with poorer clinical outcomes and higher healthcare costs. Care management for people with health complexity is increasingly recommended in primary health care (PHC). The INTERMED complexity assessment grid showed adequate psychometric properties in specialized settings. This study aimed to evaluate INTERMED's validity and feasibility to assess health complexity in an adult PHC population. METHOD: The biopsychosocial health care needs of 230 consecutive adult patients from three Brazilian PHC services were assessed using the INTERMED interview. Participants with a total score >20 were classified as "complex". Quality of life was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF); symptoms of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); social support using the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS); comorbidity levels using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). We developed two questionnaires to evaluate health services use, and patient perceived feasibility of INTERMED. RESULTS: 42 participants (18.3%) were classified as "complex". A moderate correlation was found between the total INTERMED score and the total scores of WHOQOL-BREF (rho = - 0.59) and HADS (rho = 0.56), and between the social domains of INTERMED and MOS-SSS (rho = -0.44). After adjustment, the use of PHC (ß = 2.12, t = 2.10, p < 0.05), any other health care services (ß = 3.05, t = 3.97, p < 0.01), and any medication (ß = 3.64, t = 4.16, p < 0.01) were associated with higher INTERMED scores. The INTERMED internal consistency was good (ω = 0.83), and the median application time was 7 min. Patients reported satisfaction with the questions, answers, and application time. CONCLUSION: INTERMED displayed good psychometric values in a PHC population and proved promising for practical use in PHC.

Método INTERMED para pacientes com transtornos mentais: revisão integrativa da literatura / The INTERMED method for patients with mental disorders: integrative literature review

RESUMO: Modelo do estudo: Revisão integrativa da literatura. Objetivo: Analisar evidências científicas disponíveis na literatura sobre a utilização do método INTERMED pela equipe multidisciplinar em pacientes com trans-tornos mentais. Metodologia: A seleção de artigos foi realizada nas bases de dados National Library of Medicine (PubMed), American Psychological Association (PsycINFO), Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) e Scientific Eletronic Library Online (SciELO). Resultados: Ao final, cinco estudos concentrados entre 2000 e 2008, foram selecionados para análise. Os artigos analisados mostraram que o método INTERMED teve resultados positivos na identificação de pacientes que precisam de cuidados complexos, o que direcionou a realização de intervenções psiquiátricas rápidas que diminuíram o tempo de permanência no ambiente hospitalar, o número de internações melhorou a qualidade de vida dos pacientes e, consequentemente, diminuiu custos com a saúde. Conclusão: Os estudos analisados mostraram que há poucas evidências sobre o tema investigado. O método INTERMED tem boa aplicabilidade junto a outros instrumentos e foi eficaz na identificação de pacientes que precisam de cuidados complexos. (AU)

ABSTRACT Study design: Integrative literature review. Purpose: Analyzing the scientific evidence available in the literature about the use of the INTERMED method by the multidisciplinary team in patients with mental disorders. Method: The selection of articles was performed using the National Library of Medicine (PubMed), American Psychological Association (PsycINFO), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Results: Five studies, published between 2000 and 2008, were selected for analysis. The data analyzed highlights that the INTERMED method had positive results in the identification of patients who needed complex care, which led to the implementation of rapid psychiatric interventions that reduced the length of staying in the hospital environment, the number of hospitalizations, improved the quality of life of the patients and consequently decreased health costs. Conclusion: We may affirm that there is little evidence on the subject investigated. The INTERMED method has good applicability with other instru-ments and has been effective in identifying patients who need complex care. (AU)