Prospective Cohort Follow-up of French Patients With Profound and Multiple Disabilities: Healthcare Pathways and Quality of Life Among Patients and Their Families

The studies conducted so far concerning the medical and paramedical cares provided to patients with profound and multiple disabilities (PMD) often show important limitations: samples are too small or very heterogeneous, generally constituted of children only; studies are mainly cross-sectional and retrospective, focusing on very specific issues instead of assessing health and quality of life from a more global perspective… So far, the investigators found no published data from a prospective cohort study involving a representative sample of patients with PMD. The present project aims to set up such a cohort so as to describe for the first time the natural history of French patients with PMD as well as the cares they receive at home or within the different dedicated structures in France. This cohort will also make it possible to identify the factors responsible for differences in the cares patients are provided, the consequences of these differences on their health and their quality of life (and those of their relatives) as well as the evolutions of these data over time. It will then allow for assessing the effectiveness of the French healthcare system to care for patients with PMD as well as building a frame of reference regarding the best cares to provide to these patients. The primary goal of this study is to identify the determinants of health among patients with PMD.