Alison Bullock, Katrina Bannigan; Effectiveness of Activity-Based Group Work in Community Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Am J Occup Ther 2011;65(3):257–266. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2011.001305
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© 2021 American Occupational Therapy Association
Activity-based group work is widely used by occupational therapists in mental health settings (Lloyd, King, & Bassett, 2002), but the evidence to support this intervention is unclear. We therefore conducted a systematic review focused on the question, “Is activity-based group work effective in helping people with severe and enduring mental illness in community settings improve their functional ability and/or reduce their mental health symptoms?” We used a wide-ranging search strategy, including electronic searching, hand searching, citation searching, and use of gray literature, and identified 136 potentially relevant papers. After assessment of relevance and quality, only 3 articles met the minimum criteria. Heterogeneity and flaws in quality meant it was not possible to make specific inferences for practice from the studies. Large-scale rigorous research, in the form of randomized controlled trials, is urgently needed to identify whether activity-based group work is effective.
mental health AND group*, AND community, NOT primary care, AND activit*
mental illness, AND group*, AND community, NOT primary care, AND activit*
schizophrenia AND (group* OR activit*), AND community, NOT (cancer OR heart OR dementia OR stroke), NOT primary care, NOT (pharm* OR HIV), AND (severe OR enduring)
bipolar AND (group* OR activit*), AND community
manic depression AND (group* OR activit*), AND community
depression AND (group* OR activit*), AND community, NOT (heart OR cancer OR dementia OR stroke), NOT (child* OR adolescent), NOT primary care, NOT (pharm* OR HIV), AND (severe OR enduring)
psychosis AND (group* OR activit*)
anxiety AND (group* OR activit*), AND community, NOT (heart OR cancer OR dementia OR stroke), NOT primary care, NOT (pharm* OR HIV), NOT (child* OR adolescent), AND (severe or enduring)
mental health AND group(*)
mental illness AND group(*)
schizophrenia AND group(*)/(group* AND activit*)
psychosis AND group(*)/(group* AND activit*)
bipolar AND group(*)
manic depression AND group(*)
depression AND group(*)/(group* AND activit*)
anxiety AND group(*)/(group* AND activit*)
mental health AND group*, mental health AND activit*
mental illness AND group*, mental illness AND activit*
schizophrenia AND group*, schizophrenia AND activit*
psychosis AND group*, psychosis AND activit*
bipolar AND group*, bipolar AND activit*
depression AND group*, depression AND activit*
anxiety AND group*, anxiety AND activit*
mental health AND group*
mental health AND activit*
mental illness AND group*
mental illness AND activit*
schizophrenia, psychosis, manic depression, anxiety, depression
mental health & group*
mental health & activit*
mental illness & group*
mental illness & activit*
by definition group processes are multiple and complex, and this creates difficulties for researchers who are trying to control variables and disentangle effects. Further, no two groups are identical and this makes it hard to compare groups or even replicate studies. (p. 205)
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