| Popis: |
The current evidence base for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is based upon trauma-focused psychological therapy delivered on an individual, face-to-face basis with a therapist. Many barriers to accessing treatment exist, and if untreated, chronic PTSD can result in significant personal, occupational, social, financial, and health problems, reducing years and quality of life. In 2005, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended research into newly developed guided self-help (GSH) materials based on trauma-focused psychological interventions. Unlike other common mental health disorders, currently, there is no meta-analytical evidence available to support the implementation of GSH as a low intensity psychological intervention for PTSD. A metaanalysis of eight randomised controlled-trials, was conducted to review the effectiveness of trauma-focused GSH (TF-GSH) for adults with PTSD. These studies compared TF-GSH against active or passive control comparators, and seven of these studies delivered Internetbased interventions. Results show that at postassessment a large treatment effect is associated with TF-GSH in reducing symptoms of PTSD. A moderate effect size was found in favour of TF-GSH in reducing co-morbid symptoms of depression. The rate of dropouts from TF-GSH was comparable to current evidence-based treatments for PTSD. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the magnitude of effect remained when studies judged as at high risk of bias were removed. However, there was statistically significant and clinical heterogeneity present amongst studies, which could not be addressed with additional analysis due to the small number of studies included within the review. The quality of evidence was evaluated, as low and further research is required to increase confidence in estimating the treatment effect of TF-GSH for PTSD. |
