Evaluation Of Psychosocial Interventions Research Articles

A systematic review and meta-analytic evaluation of psychosocial interventions in parents of children with cancer with an exploratory focus on minority outcomes.

Parents of children with cancer are prone to psychosocial distress, yet little is known about intervention response among diverse parents. Our systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of psychosocial interventions on anxiety and depression among parents of children with cancer and explored race and/or ethnicity differences in the efficacy of these interventions. Twenty articles met inclusion. The aggregate effect size on anxiety (-0.01, 95% CI: -0.95, 0.93, p=.97) and depression (-0.56, 95% CI: -1.65, 0.54, p=.32) showed micro to medium effects, with larger negative effect sizes indicating that anxiety and depression scores after treatment were lower for parents in intervention group as compared to control group. Neither aggregate effect size was statistically significantly different from zero. Due to underrepresentation of minorities, we could not perform subgroup or moderator analyses. Several efficacious psychosocial interventions were found to reduce parental anxiety. Future studies to examine psychosocial interventions in minority parents are warranted.

Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Psychotherapy: Processes of Meaning Making and Self Transformation

Recent empirical literature on autoimmune diseases has focused extensively on the implementation and evaluation of psychosocial interventions. Psychotherapy and counselling processes for multiple sclerosis (MS) have gained special attention given the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of the symptoms as well as their unpredictable course.

The impact of a school-based life skills intervention in Ugandan secondary schools: perspectives of teachers and students

ABSTRACT The evaluation of psychosocial interventions in low income countries requires focus on cultural appropriateness, implementation, and the experiences of participants. This nested qualitative study follows a previous controlled trial that reported positive outcomes for students participating in the Living Well life skills intervention. The current study investigated how participants experienced and perceived the intervention, through semi-structured interviews with 6 students and 5 teachers, from 3 schools in different regions of Uganda. The themes that emerged supported previous findings regarding the social, emotional and behavioural benefits of the intervention. In addition, all of the teachers and some students also spoke positively about the implementation of new pedagogical approaches. A number of socio-cultural challenges remain and further research is required to inform the development of school-based interventions that are culturally-appropriate, context-specific and focussed on capacity building and partnership.

Evaluation of psychosocial interventions for dementia: what to learn from the Cochrane Library?

Psychosocial interventions for people with dementia have expanded in the last decades, and have been subject to an important number of evaluation attempts that often lead to scientifically flaw results. To study these failures we analysed the meta-analyses of the Cochrane Library. Among 18 meta-analyses, 11 were selected for the purpose of this study. These papers were analysed on the basis of the Cochrane selection criteria, methodological quality and biases, principal outcomes and implication for practice and research. Results are discussed and analysed according to the clinical practice and scientific literature of the matter of concern. Main outcomes of this review point that: (1) it is necessary to adopt an investigation methodology adapted to specific characteristics of psychosocial interventions; (2) methodological weaknesses of randomised control trials are prejudicial to quality of research and clinical practice; (3) implementation of randomised control trials call for necessary fundamental prerequisites; and (4) other research methods than randomised control trials are susceptible to give as much, if not more, informative results. A research and practice implementation strategy is suggested.

Psychosoziale Interventionen bei körperlichen Erkrankungen

The literature dealing with the topic of this paper seems almost unmanageable. Accordingly, a schema to sort research results is proposed discriminating goal population, service model, indication as well as the treatment model and setting of psychosocial interventions. The state of the art is exemplarily described by testing the integration of psychosocial research results into current guidelines for the treatment of somatic diseases. Results related to psychosocial factors actually have been integrated into guidelines. Nevertheless, questions related to the implementation of guidelines into the reality of the health service system as well as numerous methodological problems connected with an adequate evaluation of psychosocial interventions still need to be solved.

Service user involvement in the evaluation of psycho-social intervention for self-harm: a systematic literature review

Background The efficacy of interventions and treatments for self-harm is well researched. Previous reviews of the literature have highlighted the lack of definitively effective interventions for self-harm and have highlighted the need for future research. These recommendations are also reflected in clinical guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ( NICE, 2004 ) which also call for service user involvement in studies of treatment efficacy. Aims A systematic review was undertaken to determine: a) what contributions service users have made to the evaluation of psycho-social interventions; b) by what methods have service users been involved; c) in what ways could service user involvement supplement empirical evidence for interventions. Methodology Electronic searches were completed on the 28th January 2011 of the Medline (1950–present), Web of Science (1898–Present), Web of Science (including Science Citation Index and the Social Science Citation Index), the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, and Psychinfo (1979–present) databases using a combination of 13 search terms. References were independently sifted according to set criteria by two of the authors to ensure inter-rater reliability. Results Sixty-five references were included in the review. Of these, 59% of studies were empirically based, and 26% used qualitative data collection methods to gather service user narratives. Only 8% of studies used a mixed-methodology to combined qualitative and quantitative data collection. No studies featured service user involvement. Conclusion Service user involvement is a rarity in the evaluation of psycho-social interventions, despite its use being mandated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and evidenced as effective in other areas of mental health ( Leader, 1998 ). The authors make a number of recommendations for future involvement in future self-harm research.

Review: Service user involvement in the evaluation of psycho-social intervention for self-harm: a systematic literature review

Review: Service user involvement in the evaluation of psycho-social intervention for self-harm: a systematic literature review

Improving quality of life for people with dementia in care homes: making psychosocial interventions work

Psychosocial interventions can improve behaviour and mood in people with dementia, but it is unclear how to maximise their effectiveness or acceptability in residential settings. To understand what underlies the successful implementation of psychosocial interventions in care homes. Systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research. The synthesis of 39 qualitative papers revealed that beneficial psychosocial interventions met the needs of people with dementia to connect with others, make a meaningful contribution and reminisce. Successful implementation rested on the active engagement of staff and family and the continuing provision of tailored interventions and support. This necessitated staff time, and raised issues around priorities and risk, but ultimately helped redefine staff attitudes towards residents and the caregiving role. The findings from the meta-synthesis can help to inform the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions in care homes and support their widespread implementation in clinical settings.

A Naturalistic Evaluation of Psychosocial Interventions for Cancer Patients in a Community Setting

We used a naturalistic methodology to examine associations between change in cancer patients’ emotional functioning and their use of interventions in a community organization. One-hundred ninety-two patients completed measures at baseline and 6 months later. During this time, they utilized the organization's various interventions as they wished. Attendance at educational events was associated with decreased well-being. Use of art therapy groups was not associated with decreases in negative emotion but was consistently associated with increases in positive emotion. Improved functioning on some measures was associated with use of psychoeducational groups, expressive/supportive groups, movement classes, healing arts, and a buddy-matching service.

Evaluating Psychosocial Interventions in First-Episode Psychosis

Little is known about what influences the success of psychosocial interventions for first-episode psychosis. One possible explanation for the mixed results of clinical trials is the influence of confounders on outcome. Psychosocial functioning prior to the onset of psychosis (premorbid adjustment) is one possible confounder. In order to examine the importance of premorbid adjustment to occupational therapists providing and evaluating psychosocial interventions, this study compared the baseline characteristics and premorbid adjustment of the people with first-episode psychosis referred to psychosocial rehabilitation with those of the people not referred, and the outcomes of both groups. All people with first-episode psychosis (n = 171) were assessed at baseline, including their premorbid adjustment. The participants were followed up 4 years later. A subgroup (n = 44) had been referred to psychosocial rehabilitation. The baseline presentation, premorbid adjustment and outcomes (symptoms and functioning) at 4 years of both groups were compared. The results showed that the people referred to a psychosocial rehabilitation programme had a poorer premorbid adjustment and fewer years in education than those not referred. Unsurprisingly, those not referred had better outcomes 4 years after initial presentation. It was concluded that premorbid psychosocial functioning is influential in determining the likelihood of referral to psychosocial rehabilitation and can influence evaluations of psychosocial interventions.

The Need for the Development and Evaluation of Preventive Psychosocial Forensic Interventions in Mainstream Adult Community Mental Health Services

This paper provides a selective review of forensic research with the aim of making recommendations for the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions for the mainstream community mental health setting to address the needs of patients with a history of offending. Mainstream community mental health services can be guided by existing findings in the design of psychosocial intervention and prevention programmes. There is growing need to develop and evaluate such interventions.

Suicide and schizophrenia

Approximately 10% of patients with schizophrenia kill themselves. Risk factors for suicide in schizophrenia include a pattern of severe illness, non-adherance with treatment, prior depression and self harm, treatment non-response and critical point of transition, including first admission and the period following discharge. Treatment with clozapine may reduce the risk of suicide. Evaluation of psychosocial interventions in reduction of suicidal behaviour is problematic because of the large sample sizes required to give adequate statistical power to these studies. Strategies which combine comprehensive risk assessment with a flexible, well co-ordinated risk management plan may be the most effective method of reducing suicide risk in ordinary clinical practice.

A Comparison of Multi-Item Likert and Visual Analogue Scales for the Assessment of Transactionally Defined Coping Function1

Summary: The evaluation and monitoring of interventions that are designed to alleviate psychosocial stress rely largely on subjective assessments of coping as primary outcome measures. The pros and cons of different response formats used to measure coping variables are unexplored; yet arguably, response format is a very important methodological issue for the clinical application and evaluation of psychosocial interventions. This study compared the levels of functional coping and transactional coping patterns assessed with multi-item 7-point Likert Scales (LS) and 65mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), within the framework of the Functional Dimensions of Coping (FDC) Scale developed by Ferguson and Cox, 1997. LS yielded significantly higher levels of functional coping for all four subscales, and captured a wider range of transactional coping patterns for the approach, emotion, and avoidance coping functions, than VAS. The authors recommend the use of LS for baseline assessments of transactionally defined coping function within the FDC framework.

A review of psychosocial interventions in infertility

Counselling has been strongly recommended by numerous governmental, medical and community associations to help infertile people. The purpose of this review was to determine whether psychosocial interventions improved well-being and pregnancy rates, and to identify the kinds of interventions that were most effective. A systematic search identified all published and unpublished papers in any language and any source that (1) described a psychosocial intervention and (2) evaluated its effect on at least one outcome measure in an infertile population. A total of 380 studies met the first criteria but only 6.6% ( n=25) of these were independent evaluation studies. Analysis of these studies showed that psychosocial interventions were more effective in reducing negative affect than in changing interpersonal functioning (e.g., marital and social functioning). Pregnancy rates were unlikely to be affected by psychosocial interventions. It was also found that group interventions which had emphasised education and skills training (e.g., relaxation training) were significantly more effective in producing positive change across a range of outcomes than counselling interventions which emphasised emotional expression and support and/or discussion about thoughts and feelings related to infertility. Men and women were found to benefit equally from psychosocial interventions. Directions for future research on the evaluation of psychosocial interventions are discussed.

Randomized trial of group psychosocial support in metastatic breast cancer: the BEST study

An unexpected finding that a specific form of group therapy had a significant survival effect for women with metastatic breast cancer reported by Spiegel era/. (1) has generated considerable interest in the evaluation of related psychosocial interventions. The reported results of other group interventions have raised both enthusiasm and doubt about significant survival effects. Fawzy’s work (2, 3) has demonstrated a significant survival and quality-of-life effect as reflected in improved measures of coping as well as vigour, depression, confusion and fatigue. Other reports (4-61, in contrast, have failed to demonstrate a significant survival effect or quality-of-life impact. Further investigation, in particular attempts to replicate the Spiegel intervention, would help to resolve concerns regarding the efficacy of such interventions and might identify the factors that may mediate the therapy’s effects. This evaluation of psychosocial interventions should be undertaken with the same degree of applied rigour as any medical intervention study with attention to such factors as dosing and frequency of the interventon, structure and rationale of the intervention, social integration and group cohesion, acquisition of active coping skills, adherence to the intervention protocol and competent therapeutic leadership.

Evaluation of psychosocial intervention as part of infarct rehabilitation

Evaluation of psychosocial intervention as part of infarct rehabilitation