Effectiveness of psychological and psychosocial interventions on quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and related disorders: a systematic review protocol

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Review objective The objective of this review is to synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of psychological and psychosocial interventions on quality of life (QoL) of patients with schizophrenia and related disorders. Review questions In patients with schizophrenia and related disorders: what is the effect of a psychological intervention as compared to usual care on QoL? what is the effect of a psychological intervention as compared to another psychological or psychosocial intervention on QoL? what is the effect of a psychosocial intervention as compared to usual care on QoL? what is the effect of a psychosocial intervention as compared to another psychosocial intervention or psychological intervention on QoL? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include patients with schizophrenia or related disorders (schizotypal and delusional disorders) in all stages of their illness and in all treatment settings. We will include studies where the majority of participants are adults (18 years or over) and were the majority of participants have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a related disorder (schizotypal disorder, persistent delusional disorder, F20-F22; schizoaffective disorder, F-25) based on International Statistical Classification of Diseased and related health Problems 10 th Revision (ICD-10). Types of interventions This review will consider studies that evaluate psychological or psychosocial interventions. Included interventions will be family interventions, psychoeducation / patient education, cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive remediation, social skills training, and supported employment / vocational rehabilitation. These interventions are most often recommended in practice guidelines for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia 16,17,18,19 . The format of the intervention may be individual or group-based. The providers of interventions may include nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers or other allied health providers. The control comparison will be any other psychological or psychosocial intervention or standard care (also called “treatment as usual”) defined as the care a person would normally receive if they would not been included in the research. Standard care includes any appropriate mental health care as deemed necessary by the clinician without program of the types described above. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include QoL as an outcome measure. Studies will be reviewed for evidence of standardized valid and reliable tools measuring subjective QoL, such as the Quality of Life Scale, the World Health Organization Quality of Life, the Lehmans Quality of Life Interview or the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life.