A Meta-Analysis of Adventure Therapy Outcomes and Moderators

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Bowen ◽  
James T. Neill

This study reports on a meta-analytic review of 197 studies of adventure therapy participant outcomes (2,908 effect sizes, 206 unique samples). The short-term effect size for adventure therapy was moderate (g = .47) and larger than for alternative (.14) and no treatment (.08) comparison groups. There was little change during the lead-up (.09) and follow- up periods (.03) for adventure therapy, indicating long-term maintenance of the short-term gains. The short-term adventure therapy outcomes were significant for seven out of the eight outcome categories, with the strongest effects for clinical and self-concept measures, and the smallest effects for spirituality/morality. The only significant moderator of outcomes was a positive relationship with participant age. There was also evidence that adventure therapy studies have reported larger effects over time since the 1960s. Publication bias analyses indicated that the study may slightly underestimate true effects. Overall, the findings provide the most robust meta-analysis of the effects of adventure therapy to date. Thus, an effect size of approximately .5 is suggested as a benchmark for adventure therapy programs, although this should be adjusted according to the age group.

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 2572-2585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Huang ◽  
Grey Giddins ◽  
Li-dong Wu

Background: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), as a promising alternative to traditional corticosteroid (CS), is now increasingly used in the treatment of elbow epicondylitis (EE) and plantar fasciitis (PF). To date, however, the synthesis of information on the clinical efficacy of PRP versus CS is limited with divergent conclusions. Purpose: To compare the clinical efficacy of PRP and CS injections in reducing pain and improving function in EE and PF. Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Online databases were searched from inception to October 2018 for prospective studies evaluating PRP versus CS injections for EE or PF. Independent reviewers undertook searches, screening, and risk-of-bias appraisals. The primary outcomes of interest were pain and function in both the short term (1-3 months) and the long term (≥6 months). Results: Twenty trials with 1268 participants were included. For EE, PRP provides a statistically and clinically meaningful long-term improvement in pain, with a very large effect size of −1.3 (95% CI, −1.9 to −0.7) when compared with CS, but the evidence level was low. For EE, there was moderate evidence that CS provides a statistically meaningful improvement in pain in the short term, with a medium effect size of 0.56 (95% CI, 0.08-1.03) as compared with PRP; this improvement might not be clinically significant. For PF, there was low evidence that PRP provides a statistically and clinically meaningful long-term improvement in function (American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society score), with a very large effect size of 1.94 (95% CI, 0.61-3.28). There were no significant differences between the groups in improvement in function in EE and pain and short-term function in PF, but the quality of the evidence was low. Conclusion: The use of PRP yields statistically and clinically better improvement in long-term pain than does CS in the treatment of EE. The use of PRP yields statistically and clinically better long-term functional improvement than that of CS in the treatment of PF.


1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Etnier ◽  
Walter Salazar ◽  
Daniel M. Landers ◽  
Steven J. Petruzzello ◽  
Myungwoo Han ◽  
...  

Nearly 200 studies have examined the impact that either acute or long-term exercise has upon cognition. Subsets of these studies have been reviewed using the traditional narrative method, and the common conclusion has been that the results are mixed. Therefore, a more comprehensive review is needed that includes all available studies and that provides a more objective and reproducible review process. Thus, a meta-analytic review was conducted that included all relevant studies with sufficient information for the calculation of effect size (N = 134). The overall effect size was 0.25, suggesting that exercise has a small positive effect on cognition. Examination of the moderator variables indicated that characteristics related to the exercise paradigm, the participants, the cognitive tests, and the quality of the study influence effect size. However, the most important finding was that as experimental rigor decreased, effect size increased. Therefore, more studies need to be conducted that emphasize experimental rigor.


Author(s):  
Sunghwa You ◽  
Tae Hoon Kong ◽  
Woojae Han

The present study explores the scientific evidence on whether music exposure temporarily or permanently affects hearing sensitivity in young adults. Six electronic databases were searched using related keywords for the four categories of personal listening devices, listening habits, hearing outcomes, and age. The Hedges’ g and its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. A Higgins I2 was also used to check for heterogeneity. To test for publication bias, funnel plots were drawn using Egger’s regression. Based on the inclusion criteria, 16 studies were divided into two groups to identify short-term hearing changes (n = 7) and long-term hearing changes (n = 9). In the short term, there was no significant immediate change in the thresholds or amplitudes after the music exposure, although pure-tone thresholds (PTAs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) did show the highest effect size (−0.344, CI −0.727 to 0.038) and (0.124, CI −0.047 to 0.296) at 4 kHz. On the other hand, for long-term hearing changes, the PTA provided the highest effect size at 6 kHz (−0.525, CI −0.897 to −0.154) and 8 kHz (–0.486, CI −0.819 to −0.152), while also implying that habitual and repeated personal listening device (PLD) usage can act on some significant hearing changes in audiological tests. We conclude that the use of a PLD produces a few temporary hearing changes at 4 kHz after its use but that the changes are then reversed. However, it is important to note heavy PLD users’ experience regarding permanent changes in their hearing thresholds at high frequencies, and the public should be educated on this issue.


2020 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-102525
Author(s):  
Stefanos Karanasios ◽  
Vasileios Korakakis ◽  
Rod Whiteley ◽  
Ioannis Vasilogeorgis ◽  
Sarah Woodbridge ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of exercise compared with other conservative interventions in the management of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) on pain and function.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsWe used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess risk of bias and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology to grade the certainty of evidence. Self-perceived improvement, pain intensity, pain-free grip strength (PFGS) and elbow disability were used as primary outcome measures.Eligibility criteriaRCTs assessing the effectiveness of exercise alone or as an additive intervention compared with passive interventions, wait-and-see or injections in patients with LET.Results30 RCTs (2123 participants, 5 comparator interventions) were identified. Exercise outperformed (low certainty) corticosteroid injections in all outcomes at all time points except short-term pain reduction. Clinically significant differences were found in PFGS at short-term (mean difference (MD): 12.15, (95% CI) 1.69 to 22.6), mid-term (MD: 22.45, 95% CI 3.63 to 41.3) and long-term follow-up (MD: 18, 95% CI 11.17 to 24.84). Statistically significant differences (very low certainty) for exercise compared with wait-and-see were found only in self-perceived improvement at short-term, pain reduction and elbow disability at short-term and long-term follow-up. Substantial heterogeneity in descriptions of equipment, load, duration and frequency of exercise programmes were evident.ConclusionsLow and very low certainty evidence suggests exercise is effective compared with passive interventions with or without invasive treatment in LET, but the effect is small.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018082703.


Cardiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Guoqi Dong ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Hongru Zhang ◽  
Yihuang Gu

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) has been considered as a prognostic factor of cardiovascular disease. However, the prognostic value of sST2 concentration in chronic heart failure remains to be summarized. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for eligible studies up to January 1, 2020. Data extracted from articles and provided by authors were used in agreement with the PRISMA statement. The endpoints were all-cause mortality (ACM), cardiovascular mortality (CVM)/heart failure-related hospitalization (HFH), and all-cause mortality (ACM)/heart failure-related readmission (HFR). <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 11 studies with 5,121 participants were included in this analysis. Higher concentration of sST2 predicted the incidence of long-term ACM (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.04), long-term ACM/HFR (HR: 1.42, CI: 1.27–1.59), and long-term CVM/HFH (HR: 2.25, CI: 1.82–2.79), regardless of short-term ACM/HFR (HR: 2.31, CI: 0.71–7.49). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Higher sST2 concentration at baseline is associated with increasing risk of long-term ACM, ACM/HFR, and CVM/HFH and can be a tool for the prognosis of chronic heart failure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxin Luo ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Guixian Wu ◽  
Xiangtao Huang ◽  
Yali Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Mobilization failure may occur when the conventional hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) mobilization agent granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is used alone, new regimens were developed to improve mobilization efficacy. Multiple studies have been performed to investigate the efficacy of these regimens via animal models, but the results are inconsistent. We aim to compare the efficacy of different HSC mobilization regimens and identify new promising regimens with a network meta-analysis of preclinical studies. Methods We searched Medline and Embase databases for the eligible animal studies that compared the efficacy of different HSC mobilization regimens. Primary outcome is the number of total colony-forming cells (CFCs) in per milliliter of peripheral blood (/ml PB), and the secondary outcome is the number of Lin− Sca1+ Kit+ (LSK) cells/ml PB. Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed following the guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Decision Support Unit (NICE DSU) with WinBUGS version 1.4.3. G-CSF-based regimens were classified into the SD (standard dose, 200–250 μg/kg/day) group and the LD (low dose, 100–150 μg/kg/day) group based on doses, and were classified into the short-term (2–3 days) group and the long-term (4–5 days) group based on administration duration. Long-term SD G-CSF was chosen as the reference treatment. Results are presented as the mean differences (MD) with the associated 95% credibility interval (95% CrI) for each regimen. Results We included 95 eligible studies and reviewed the efficacy of 94 mobilization agents. Then 21 studies using the poor mobilizer mice model (C57BL/6 mice) to investigate the efficacy of different mobilization regimens were included for network meta-analysis. Network meta-analyses indicated that compared with long-term SD G-CSF alone, 14 regimens including long-term SD G-CSF + Me6, long-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100 + EP80031, long-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100 + FG-4497, long-term SD G-CSF + ML141, long-term SD G-CSF + desipramine, AMD3100 + meloxicam, long-term SD G-CSF + reboxetine, AMD3100 + VPC01091, long-term SD G-CSF + FG-4497, Me6, long-term SD G-CSF + EP80031, POL5551, long-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100, AMD1300 + EP80031 and long-term LD G-CSF + meloxicam significantly increased the collections of total CFCs. G-CSF + Me6 ranked first among these regimens in consideration of the number of harvested CFCs/ml PB (MD 2168.0, 95% CrI 2062.0−2272.0). In addition, 7 regimens including long-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100, AMD3100 + EP80031, long-term SD G-CSF + EP80031, short-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100 + IL-33, long-term SD G-CSF + ML141, short-term LD G-CSF + ARL67156, and long-term LD G-CSF + meloxicam significantly increased the collections of LSK cells compared with G-CSF alone. Long-term SD G-CSF + AMD3100 ranked first among these regimens in consideration of the number of harvested LSK cells/ml PB (MD 2577.0, 95% CrI 2422.0–2733.0). Conclusions Considering the number of CFC and LSK cells in PB as outcomes, G-CSF plus AMD3100, Me6, EP80031, ML141, FG-4497, IL-33, ARL67156, meloxicam, desipramine, and reboxetine are all promising mobilizing regimens for future investigation.


Author(s):  
Jihoon Kim ◽  
Darla M. Castelli

Background: Gamified reward systems, such as providing digital badges earned for specific accomplishments, are related to student engagement in educational settings. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analytic review to quantify the effects of gamified interventions on student behavioral change. Methods: A meta-analysis was performed using the following databases: The Academic Search Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Education Source, ERIC, Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts, and PsycINFO. Inclusion in the review required: (a) peer-reviewed conducted between 2010 and 2019, (b) experimental controlled design, (c) gamification elements, and (d) educational setting. Results: Using a random-effects model, a statistically significant (Cohen’s d (ES) = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.62) gamification effect was evidenced by moderate and positive grand effects sizes (ES). Gamification effects were higher with adults in higher education (ES = 0.95) than K-12 students (ES = 0.92). Brief interventions delivered in days or less than 1 week were significantly more effective (ES = 1.57) than interventions lasting up to 20 weeks (ES = 0.30). Interventions incorporating gamification elements across years (ES = −0.20) was adversely associated with behavioral change. Conclusions: Findings suggest that short-term over longer-term gamified interventions might be a promising way to initiate changes in learner’s behaviors and improve learning outcome.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianglei Ma ◽  
Xiaoyao Li ◽  
Shifu Zhao ◽  
Jiawei Wang ◽  
Wujia Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background It remains no clear conclusion about which is better between robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to compare the short-term and long-term efficacy between RATS and VATS for NSCLC. Methods Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Medline, and Web of Science databases were comprehensively searched for studies published before December 2020. The quality of the articles was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the data analyzed using the Review Manager 5.3 software. Fixed or random effect models were applied according to heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were conducted. Results A total of 18 studies including 11,247 patients were included in the meta-analyses, of which 5114 patients were in the RATS group and 6133 in the VATS group. Compared with VATS, RATS was associated with less blood loss (WMD = − 50.40, 95% CI -90.32 ~ − 10.48, P = 0.010), lower conversion rate (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.43 ~ 0.60, P < 0.001), more harvested lymph nodes (WMD = 1.72, 95% CI 0.63 ~ 2.81, P = 0.002) and stations (WMD = 0.51, 95% CI 0.15 ~ 0.86, P = 0.005), shorter duration of postoperative chest tube drainage (WMD = − 0.61, 95% CI -0.78 ~ − 0.44, P < 0.001) and hospital stay (WMD = − 1.12, 95% CI -1.58 ~ − 0.66, P < 0.001), lower overall complication rate (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.83 ~ 0.99, P = 0.020), lower recurrence rate (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.36 ~ 0.72, P < 0.001), and higher cost (WMD = 3909.87 USD, 95% CI 3706.90 ~ 4112.84, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between RATS and VATS in operative time, mortality, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). Sensitivity analysis showed that no significant differences were found between the two techniques in conversion rate, number of harvested lymph nodes and stations, and overall complication. Conclusions The results revealed that RATS is a feasible and safe technique compared with VATS in terms of short-term and long-term outcomes. Moreover, more randomized controlled trials comparing the two techniques with rigorous study designs are still essential to evaluate the value of robotic surgery for NSCLC.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document