Date Presented 04/03/2025
This systematic review was conducted to determine the gaps in the current existing literature on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary care compared with unidisciplinary care with patients with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Primary Author and Speaker: Zachary Miller
Contributing Authors: Jeff E. Snodgrass, Rachel Helms, Chandler E. Rosecrance, Kennedy Morelock
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify and evaluate the existing literature on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary care compared to unidisciplinary care with ALS patients.
DESIGN AND METHOD: A systematic literature review was performed systematic search was performed using CINAHL Complete, Cochrane, Gale OneFile, PubMed, ProQuest, PyschInfo, and ScienceDirect. Studies related to interdisciplinary care for ALS patients from peer-reviewed articles from 2013-2023 are included in our review. The review included 22 studies. One article was considered level I evidence, four articles were considered level II, 12 articles were considered level III, four articles were considered level IV, and one article was considered level V.
RESULTS: We found moderate evidence that interprofessional communication and decision-making skills increase the effectiveness of ALS care along with the quality of life of treated patients. We also found strong evidence that interdisciplinary care teams prolong the survival time of clients with ALS and incomplete evidence on the use of telehealth within interdisciplinary ALS care.
CONCLUSION: After examining the existing research on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary care for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the following five themes were supported by moderate to strong evidence with this systematic literature review: decision-making and team dynamics, telehealth in ALS care, care methods/focuses within the interdisciplinary team, patient quality of life, and survival rate.
PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT: This review indicates that interdisciplinary care teams must be individualized and flexible to support each client and family relationship to enhance quality of life. Occupational therapy is demonstrated throughout this review as an impactful service on the interdisciplinary team in improving the quality of life among ALS patients.
References
Cordesse, V., Sidorok, F., Schimmel, P., Holstein, J., & Meininger, V. (2015). Coordinated care affects hospitalization and prognosis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a cohort study. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1), 134. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-0810-7
de Almeida, F. E. O., do Carmo Santana, A. K., & de Carvalho, F. O. (2021). Multidisciplinary care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurological sciences, 42(3), 911–923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-05011-2
Martin, S., Trevor-Jones, E., Khan, S., Shaw, K., Marchment, D., Kulka, A., … Al-Chalabi, A. (2017). The benefit of evolving multidisciplinary care in ALS: a diagnostic cohort survival comparison. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 18(7-8S), 569–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2017.1349151
Schellenbere, K. L., & Hansen, G. (2018). Patient perspectives on transitioning to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis multidisciplinary clinics. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 11, 519-524. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S177563
