Social network interventions in mental healthcare: a protocol for an umbrella review

IntroductionSocial networks (SNs) can play a crucial role in the process of recovery from mental illness. Yet there is no standard best practice for involving SNs to optimise patient recovery. It is therefore critical to explore the diversity of SN approaches in mental health, highlight gaps in the evidence and suggest future directions for research and practice. This protocol describes the methods for an umbrella review of SN interventions for the care and/or treatment of mental illness.Methods and analysisNine electronic databases will be searched for the relevant journal articles: CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Ovid PsycINFO. We will include reviews which extracted information about the quantity, structure and quality of patient’s SNs as well as frequency of contact. The range of publication dates of the included articles will be from 2010 and 2021, as recommended by Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool and ratings of the quality of evidence will be used to assess the quality of the included reviews. The results will be presented in accordance with guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. Findings will inform the development of an SN framework to guide the design and evaluation of psychosocial interventions.Ethics and disseminationThis umbrella review will involve secondary data analysis and ethical approval is not required. The target audience includes clinicians, researchers and service users, who will be reached with tailored materials through journal publications, conference presentations and social media. The presentation of the results will provide a more complete picture of relevant evidence and explicit basis from which to improve psychosocial well-being for people diagnosed with a mental illness.PROSPERO registration numberThis protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (http:/ /www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO), registration number CRD42020192873.

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Shared decision making interventions in mental healthcare: a protocol for an umbrella review

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051283 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. e051283

Author(s):

Marta Chmielowska ◽

Yaara Zisman-Ilani ◽

Rob Saunders ◽

Stephen Pilling

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Shared Decision Making ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Shared Decision ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Meta Analyses

IntroductionShared decision making (SDM) has been advocated as a key component of person-centred care and recovery from mental illness. Although the principles of SDM have been well documented, there is a lack of guidance about how to accomplish SDM in mental healthcare. The objective of the present protocol is to describe the methods for an umbrella review to determine the effectiveness elements of SDM interventions for persons diagnosed with a mental illness. An umbrella review’s key characteristic is that it only considers for inclusion the highest level of evidence, namely other systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Methods and AnalysisElectronic searches will be performed in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Ovid PsycINFO. Based on Joanna Briggs Institute recommended guidelines, review articles will be included if they were published between 2010 and 2021. This approach will help identify current and emerging evidence-based treatment options in mental illness. Included articles will be assessed for quality using Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool and ratings of the quality of evidence in each review. Presentation of results will align with guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. Findings will be stratified by mode of intervention and implementation characteristics and will inform development of SDM taxonomy in mental healthcare.Ethics and disseminationThis umbrella review will focus on the analysis of secondary data and does not require ethics approval. Findings will be disseminated widely to clinicians, researchers and services users via journal publication, conference presentations and social media. The results will contribute to the conceptualisation and understanding of effective SDM interventions in mental healthcare and to improving the quality of SDM for individuals with a mental illness.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020190700.

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Efficacy and safety of aliskiren combination therapy: a protocol for an umbrella review

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043807 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. e043807

Author(s):

Jiantong Shen ◽

Wenming Feng ◽

Yike Wang ◽

Qiyuan Zhao ◽

Billong Laura Flavorta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Combination Therapy ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Quality Of Reporting ◽

Ethical Approval ◽

Registration Number ◽

Third Person ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Impact

IntroductionEfficacy of aliskiren combination therapy with other antihypertensive has been evaluated in the treatment of patients with hypertension in recent systematic reviews. However, most previous reviews only focused on one single health outcome or one setting, none of them made a full summary that assessed the impact of aliskiren combination treatment comprehensively. As such, this umbrella review based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses is aimed to synthesise the evidences on efficacy, safety and tolerability of aliskiren-based therapy for hypertension and related comorbid patients.Methods and analysisA comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI published from inception to August 2020 will be conducted. The selected articles are systematic reviews which evaluated efficacy, safety and tolerability of aliskiren combination therapy. Two reviewers will screen eligible articles, extract data and evaluate quality independently. Any disputes will be resolved by discussion or the arbitration of a third person. The quality of reporting evidence will be assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews V.2 tool tool. We will take a mixed-methods approach to synthesising the review literatures, reporting summary of findings tables and iteratively mapping the results.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for the study, as we would only collect data from available published materials. This umbrella review will be also submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication after completion.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020192131.

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Psychological resilience during COVID-19: a meta-review protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051417 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e051417

Author(s):

Katie Seaborn ◽

Mark Chignell ◽

Jacek Gwizdka

Keyword(s):

Systematic Reviews ◽

Well Being ◽

Measurement Tool ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Key Points ◽

Meta Review ◽

Ethical Approval ◽

Registration Number ◽

Review Protocol

IntroductionThe global COVID-19 pandemic continues to have wide-ranging implications for health, including psychological well-being. A growing corpus of research reviews has emerged on the topic of psychological resilience in the context of the pandemic. However, this body of work has not been systematically reviewed for its quality, nor with respect to findings on the effectiveness of tools and strategies for psychological resilience. To this end, a meta-review protocol is proposed with the following objectives: (1) identify review work on the topic of psychological resilience during COVID-19; (2) assess the quality of this review work using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews; (3) assess the risk of bias in this work; (4) generate a narrative summary of the key points, strengths and weaknesses; (5) identify the psychological resilience strategies that have been reviewed; (6) identify how these strategies have been evaluated for their effectiveness; (7) identify what outcomes were measured and (8) summarise the findings on strategies for psychological resilience so far, providing recommendations, if possible.Methods and analysisA systematic meta-review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews for Protocols and Joanna Briggs Institute umbrella review guidelines. Electronic searches of general databases, especially Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed, will be conducted. Only results from January 2020 onwards will be considered, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Only results in English will be included. Descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and narrative summaries describing the nature of the reviewed work and evaluation of psychological resilience strategies will be carried out.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not needed for systematic review protocols. The results of the meta-review will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal. The raw and summarised data will be shared in the journal or other open venues.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021235288.

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Mapping the Evidence on the Effectiveness of Telemedicine Interventions in Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, and Hypertension: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/16791 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. e16791 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Patrick Timpel ◽

Sarah Oswald ◽

Peter E H Schwarz ◽

Lorenz Harst

Keyword(s):

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Population Characteristics ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Low Grade ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Patients With Diabetes ◽

Meta Analyses

Background Telemedicine is defined by three characteristics: (1) using information and communication technologies, (2) covering a geographical distance, and (3) involving professionals who deliver care directly to a patient or a group of patients. It is said to improve chronic care management and self-management in patients with chronic diseases. However, currently available guidelines for the care of patients with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia do not include evidence-based guidance on which components of telemedicine are most effective for which patient populations. Objective The primary aim of this study was to identify, synthesize, and critically appraise evidence on the effectiveness of telemedicine solutions and their components on clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. Methods We conducted an umbrella review of high-level evidence, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. On the basis of predefined eligibility criteria, extensive automated and manual searches of the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were conducted. Two authors independently screened the studies, extracted data, and carried out the quality assessments. Extracted data were presented according to intervention components and patient characteristics using defined thresholds of clinical relevance. Overall certainty of outcomes was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. Results Overall, 3564 references were identified, of which 46 records were included after applying eligibility criteria. The majority of included studies were published after 2015. Significant and clinically relevant reduction rates for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c; ≤−0.5%) were found in patients with diabetes. Higher reduction rates were found for recently diagnosed patients and those with higher baseline HbA1c (>8%). Telemedicine was not found to have a significant and clinically meaningful impact on blood pressure. Only reviews or meta-analyses reporting lipid outcomes in patients with diabetes were found. GRADE assessment revealed that the overall quality of the evidence was low to very low. Conclusions The results of this umbrella review indicate that telemedicine has the potential to improve clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes. Although subgroup-specific effectiveness rates favoring certain intervention and population characteristics were found, the low GRADE ratings indicate that evidence can be considered as limited. Future updates of clinical care and practice guidelines should carefully assess the methodological quality of studies and the overall certainty of subgroup-specific outcomes before recommending telemedicine interventions for certain patient populations.

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Telemedicine Use Among Caregivers of Cancer Patients: Systematic Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.9812 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Chiara Marzorati ◽

Chiara Renzi ◽

Samuel William Russell-Edu ◽

Gabriella Pravettoni

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Family Members ◽

Well Being ◽

Point Of View ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Web Based

BACKGROUND The number of published studies and systematic reviews examining different telehealth interventions targeting patients and their effects on patients’ well-being and quality of life have grown in recent decades. However, the use of telemedicine tools aimed at the family members and caregivers of adult cancer patients is less defined. OBJECTIVE We aimed to conduct a systematic review to provide a more complete picture regarding telemedicine tools for informal caregivers (usually family members or close friends) implemented in all phases of cancer care. More specifically, the review aimed to better describe the study samples’ characteristics, to analyze measured outcomes and the specific questionnaires used to assess them, and to describe in depth the implemented interventions and their formats. Finally, we examined the role of telehealth, and usability and feasibility trends in supporting patients’ caregivers. METHODS We systematically searched the literature in the following databases: Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO. Inclusion criteria were being written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals, describing a telehealth-implemented intervention, and focusing on caregivers of adult cancer patients at any stage of the disease. We selected studies published up to November 2017. We critically appraised included articles using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and graded the quality of evidence by outcome using the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine framework. RESULTS We included 24 studies in the final selection. In 21 of the 24 studies, the patient-caregiver dyad was analyzed, and the study population dealt with different types of cancer at different stages. Included studies considered the caregiver’s condition from both an individual and a relational point of view. Along with psychosocial variables, some studies monitored engagement and user satisfaction regarding Web-based platforms or telehealth interventions. All studies reported significant improvements in some of the investigated areas, but they often showed small effect sizes. Two types of telehealth intervention formats were used: Web-based platforms and telephone calls. Some of the included studies referred to the same project, but on study samples with different cancer diagnoses or with new versions of previously developed interventions. CONCLUSIONS Reported outcomes seem to suggest that we are in an exploratory phase. More detailed and targeted research hypotheses are still needed. Clarifying caregivers’ needs related to telehealth tools and better defining outcome measures may yield more significant results.

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Methodological and Terminological Issues in Animal-Assisted Interventions: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10050759 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 759 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Antonio Santaniello ◽

Francesca Dicé ◽

Roberta Claudia Carratú ◽

Alessia Amato ◽

Alessandro Fioretti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Reviews ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Online Databases ◽

Psychological Educational ◽

Methodological Aspects ◽

Appropriate Practices

Recently, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), which are defined as psychological, educational, and rehabilitation support activities, have become widespread in different contexts. For many years, they have been a subject of interest in the international scientific community and are at the center of an important discussion regarding their effectiveness and the most appropriate practices for their realization. We carried out an umbrella review (UR) of systematic reviews (SRs), created for the purpose of exploring the literature and aimed at deepening the terminological and methodological aspects of AAIs. It is created by exploring the online databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library. The SRs present in the high-impact indexed search engines Web of Sciences and Scopus are selected. After screening, we selected 15 SRs that met the inclusion criteria. All papers complained of the poor quality of AAIs; some considered articles containing interventions that did not always correspond to the terminology they have explored and whose operating practices were not always comparable. This stresses the need for the development and consequent diffusion of not only operational protocols, but also research protocols which provide for the homogeneous use of universally recognized terminologies, thus facilitating the study, deepening, and comparison between the numerous experiences described.

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Effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation: Umbrella review and quality assessment of systematic reviews

10.21203/rs.2.18915/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alemu Sufa Melka ◽

Catherine L Chojenta ◽

Elizabeth G Holliday ◽

Ayele G Bali ◽

Deborah J Loxton

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Replacement Therapy ◽

Nicotine Replacement Therapy ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Opioid Antagonist ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Nicotine Replacement ◽

Risk Of Cancer

Abstract Background: In the long term, smoking cessation can decrease the risk of cancer, stroke, and heart attacks and improve overall survival. This umbrella review aimed to assess the effect of pharmacological interventions on smoking cessation and to evaluate the methodological quality of previously conducted systematic reviews. Methods: Databases including the Cochrane library, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar were used to retrieve reviews. Systematic reviews that included only randomized controlled trials designed to assess pharmacotherapeutic interventions supporting abstinence from smoking were considered in this umbrella review. Each review was assessed for quality using the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (R-AMSTAR) tool. Two authors (AM, AB) screened the titles and abstracts of all reviews obtained by the search strategy, assessed the full text of selected articles for inclusion and extracted data independently. Two authors (AM, AB) also performed a quality appraisal independently and Cohen’s Kappa statistic was used to assess inter-rater agreement. The findings of the studies were narrated qualitatively to describe the evidence regarding the effectiveness of pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation.Results: Nine reviews were included in this umbrella review. Most of the reviews included in this review reported that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), bupropion and varenicline were effective for smoking cessation. The combination of a nicotine patch with other nicotine formulations was also more effective than monotherapy. Similarly, the combination of nicotine with the non-nicotine therapy varenicline was found to be more effective than varenicline alone. However, the opioid antagonist naltrexone alone was not found to be effective for smoking cessation nor in combination with nicotine replacement therapy. The quality of reviews published after the development of the R-AMSTAR tool was higher than reviews published before the inception of the tool.Conclusions: This review revealed that drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are effective for smoking cessation. A combination of nicotine patches with other nicotine formulations was also effective for smoking cessation compared to nicotine monotherapy. The quality of papers published after the development of the AMSTAR tool demonstrated better quality compared to papers published before the inception of the tool.

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Effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation: Umbrella review and quality assessment of systematic reviews

10.21203/rs.2.18915/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alemu Sufa Melka ◽

Catherine L Chojenta ◽

Elizabeth G Holliday ◽

Ayele G Bali ◽

Deborah J Loxton

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Replacement Therapy ◽

Nicotine Replacement Therapy ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Methodological Quality ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Nicotine Replacement ◽

Risk Of Cancer

Abstract Background : In the long term, smoking cessation can decrease the risk of cancer, stroke, and heart attacks and improve overall survival. This umbrella review aimed to assess the effect of pharmacological interventions on smoking cessation and to evaluate the methodological quality of previously conducted systematic reviews. Methods: Databases including the Cochrane library, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar were used to retrieve reviews. Systematic reviews that included only randomized controlled trials designed to assess pharmacotherapeutic interventions supporting abstinence from smoking were considered in this umbrella review. The methodological quality of the included reviews was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) tool, which contains 16 domains. Two authors (AM, AB) screened the titles and abstracts of all reviews obtained by the search strategy, assessed the full text of selected articles for inclusion and extracted data independently. Two authors (AM, AB) also performed a quality appraisal independently. The findings of the studies were narrated qualitatively to describe the evidence regarding the effectiveness of pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation. Results: Ten reviews were included in this umbrella review . Most of the reviews included in this review reported that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), bupropion and varenicline and cytisine were effective for smoking cessation. The combination of a nicotine patch with other nicotine formulations was also more effective than monotherapy. Similarly, the combination of nicotine with the non-nicotine therapy varenicline was found to be more effective than varenicline alone. However, the opioid antagonist naltrexone alone was not found to be effective for smoking cessation nor in combination with nicotine replacement therapy. Based on the AMSTAR 2 rating, one review scored high quality, two scored moderate quality, four scored low quality, and three scored critically low quality. Conclusions: This review revealed that drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are effective for smoking cessation. A combination of nicotine patches with other nicotine formulations was also effective for smoking cessation compared to nicotine monotherapy.

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Effectiveness of cognitive–behavioural therapy: a protocol for an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025761 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. e025761 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Beth Fordham ◽

Thavapriya Sugavanam ◽

Sally Hopewell ◽

Karla Hemming ◽

Jeremy Howick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Well Being ◽

Behavioural Therapy ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Cognitive Behavioural ◽

The Individual ◽

Meta Analyses

IntroductionCognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychological therapy that has been used to improve patient well-being across multiple mental and physical health problems. Its effectiveness has been examined in thousands of randomised control trials that have been synthesised into hundreds of systematic reviews. The aim of this overview is to map, synthesise and assess the reliability of evidence generated from these systematic reviews of the effectiveness of CBT across all health conditions, patient groups and settings.Methods and analysisWe will run our search strategy, to identify systematic reviews of CBT, within the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, and OpenGrey between January 1992 and 25 April 2018. Independent reviewers will sift, perform data extraction in duplicate and assess the quality of the reviews using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (V.2) tool. The outcomes of interest include: health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, psychosis and physical/physiological outcomes prioritised in the individual reviews. The evidence will be mapped and synthesised where appropriate by health problem, patient subgroups, intervention type, context and outcome.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required as this is an overview of published systematic reviews. We plan to publish results in peer-reviewed journals and present at international and national academic, clinical and patient conferences.Trial registration numberCRD42017078690.

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Interventions to improve the well-being of family caregivers of patients on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: a systematic review

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.11713 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e11713

Author(s):

Ana Carolina Hovadick ◽

Viviane Rodrigues Jardim ◽

Constança Paúl ◽

Adriana Pagano ◽

Ilka Reis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Peritoneal Dialysis ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Well Being ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

The Family ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Cochrane Library

Background The family caregivers of patients on hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) typically experience higher burden than the general population because of the nature of tasks these caregivers need to carry out as a part of homecare. This fact influences both the caregivers’ quality of life and the quality of their care toward the patient. Thus, this study aimed to review the effectiveness and limitations of interventions in improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients on HD and PD. Methodology A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (version 5.1.0). The Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, MEDLINE, VHL Regional Portal, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched queried for randomized controlled trials that developed interventions aimed at improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients undergoing HD and/or PD from 2009 to 2020. The study protocol was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration no. CRD42020151161). Results Six studies met the inclusion criteria, all of which addressed caregivers of patients undergoing HD. All interventions reported in the included studies were carried out in group sessions, which addressed topics such as patient assistance and care, treatment complications, coping strategies, caregiver self-care practices, problem solving, and self-efficacy. The studies found significant improvement in the caregiver’s well-being. Conclusions Group session interventions are effective in improving the well-being of family caregivers of patients undergoing HD. In regard to PD, there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations for caregivers of patients with this treatment.

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