Burden of multimorbidity in South Africa: Implications for health policy and service delivery

Abstract

South Africa is challenged to manage the quadruple burden of disease experienced by its population. Furthermore, the burden of multimorbidity – that is, people living with more than one disease condition – is increasing. Multimorbidity challenges the way the health system is organised as it traverses different health programmes. However, little research has investigated the phenomenon in South Africa. The study describes the epidemiology – prevalence, patterns and risk factors - of multimorbidity in South Africa, and makes recommendations for health policy and service delivery.