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Review
. 2025 Apr 30;12(2):100252.
doi: 10.1016/j.fhj.2025.100252. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Integrating multimorbidity education into undergraduate medical curriculum: A systematic review

Andrea Cuschieri  1 , Bridget L Ryan  2   3 , Sarah Cuschieri  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Integrating multimorbidity education into undergraduate medical curriculum: A systematic review

Andrea Cuschieri et al. Future Healthc J. .

Abstract

Multimorbidity is becoming highly prevalent across the globe. Current medical curricula predominantly focus on single-disease management, leaving future physicians underprepared to provide patient-centred care to address the multimorbidity epidemic. Through a systematic review, this short communication identified the current state of multimorbidity education in medical curricula and evaluated existing educational approaches. A narrative systematic review (CRD42024585500) of studies meeting stringent inclusion criteria focusing on multimorbidity education was conducted. The review found limited evidence regarding the integration and effectiveness of current educational approaches. Although multimorbidity education was associated with improved self-reported student confidence, there was a notable absence of structured, formal teaching frameworks, with education primarily occurring through informal clinical exposure. This systematic review discovered the absence of an evidence base on structured, validated teaching methods that are urgently needed to better prepare future physicians to manage patients with multimorbidity effectively.

Keywords: Education; Medical school; Medical students; Multimorbidity; Teaching.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Multimorbidity landscape mapping. Included study characteristics, outcome and risk of bias assessment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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