Abstract
Aim and objectives: To synthesise the available evidence about culturally-adapted psychosocial family interventions in the Arab world. The review identifies the content and characteristics of these interventions, determines the strategies used to adapt them to the Arab culture successfully, assesses the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions, and evaluates the effectiveness of these interventions for service users and their families. Background: Family interventions in schizophrenia are evidence-based and have been adapted to different cultures to improve their effectiveness and acceptability in different settings. The Arab world has a unique set of sociocultural norms and values that cannot be ignored when developing or implementing such interventions. There is a lack of research on the feasibility of delivering family interventions for schizophrenia in the Arab region. Design: A systematic review Method: Five electronic databases were searched including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO and EMBASE for articles written in Arabic and English from inception to August 2019. Data were extracted and synthesised narratively. Result: Five studies were retrieved from the search: two randomized control studies, two non-randomized studies and one qualitative study. There is a paucity of evidence about culturally- adapted family interventions in the Arab region. However, the cultural adaptation process was comprehensive, and the implementation was feasible and acceptable. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor, so there is a risk of overestimating the effect of the interventions due to lack of rigour and the presence of bias. Conclusion: The present review provided the foundation for future work about family interventions in the Arab world, and confirmed the feasibility of implementing such interventions in the Arab world with minor modifications. Furthermore, the data suggested that any alternative family-oriented intervention for schizophrenia is likely to be better than standard care in improving the outcome for patients and their families.
Psychosocial family interventions for relatives of people living with psychotic disorders in the Arab world: systematic review
