Psychotic illnesses and young women's experiences: a systematic review protocol of qualitative research.

Abstract

Review question/objective The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the best available evidence on the experiences of young adult women (aged 18-35 years) living with a psychotic illness. Specifically, the review question is: What are the experiences of young adult women living with a psychotic illness? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include young women between 18 and 35 years of age, who are living with a psychotic illness as self-reported or determined by scales reflecting diagnostic criteria. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest The phenomenon of interest for this review is the experience of living with a psychotic illness as a woman aged 18-35 in the community. Psychotic illness will include schizophrenia spectrum disorders: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, psychosis not specified and schizophreniform disorder. Studies that address serious mental illness or psychosis and include women with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the sample will be included. Studies that include psychotic illness with other mental health or chronic illnesses or substance abuse will be included. Years of living with a psychotic illness will not be a criterion for inclusion in this study. Experiences will be defined broadly and be inclusive of perceptions and experiences with health and social systems. Young women will be defined as women aged 18-35 years of age (inclusive). Studies that focus exclusively on the post-partum period will be excluded from this review.