SynthesisBMJ open2024
Effectiveness of psychological interventions for carers of patients with severe mental illness (SMI): a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions Among Family Caregivers of People with Schizophrenia in China: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Community mental health journal · 2026Pooled it
- Mental health interventions for carers of individuals with eating disorders: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials assessing efficacy on anxiety and depressive symptoms.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Informal Caregivers As True Partners In Mental Health Recovery: Is It Time For A Complete Rewrite?Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2026Article
- A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Caregiver Burden in Schizophrenia Care: Findings from Western Saudi Arabia with Policy Implications for Preventive Mental Healthcare.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesInterventions for carers of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) are effective in improving patient outcomes. This review examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions or support designed to help carers of patients with SMI.
designA systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. Study selection, data abstraction and risk of bias assessments were independently conducted and duplicated. The reporting of this review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. DATA SOURCES: CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Medline and PsycINFO were searched from inception to 30 April 2024. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Only studies using an RCT were considered. All other research designs were excluded. The included population was carers over 18 caring for a patient with SMI. Any psychological, psychosocial or psychoeducational interventions were included. Patients under 18, diagnosed with dementia or learning disabilities comorbidity, were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Study characteristics and outcome data (mean and SD) for each included study were collected. Review Manager (RevMan) was used to manage the data. Meta-analysis was not considered appropriate due to the heterogeneity of the included studies. The results were presented as a narrative synthesis.
resultsThis review included 3869 participants from 32 RCTs and demonstrated a beneficial effect of psychological interventions for carers. Psychoeducation was widely used and the most evaluated intervention for carers.
conclusionsPsychological interventions for carers are beneficial in helping to reduce negative outcomes and enhance positive outcomes. Future research could focus on exploring the impact of interventions on less evaluated outcomes such as depressive and anxiety symptoms. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021233181.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.