Facilitated group work for people with long-term conditions: a systematic review of benefits from studies of group-work interventions

Jackson, Margaret; Jones, Daniel; Dyson, Judith; Macleod, Una

Abstract

Background: About 15.4 million people in the UK live with a long-term condition. Of the health and social care spend, 70% is invested in caring for this population. Evidence suggests that group-work interventions offer patient support, improved outcomes, and reduce the costs of care. Aim: To review the current evidence base examining the effectiveness of group work in long-term physical disease where such groups are facilitated by healthcare professionals. Design and setting: Systematic review and narrative synthesis of studies of group-work interventions led by health professionals for adults with specified long-term illnesses. Method: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched using terms relating to group work and long-term conditions. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with a control group that did not include group work. Results: The 14 included studies demonstrated a high degree of heterogeneity in terms of participant characteristics, interventions, and outcome measures and were of varying quality. The studies demonstrated some statistically significant improvements in pain, psychological outcomes, self-efficacy, self-care, and quality of life resulting from intervention. Conclusion: This review demonstrates significant benefits resulting from group participation, in adults with long-term disease. Results were mixed and some benefits were short-lived. Nevertheless, these results suggest that group work should be more widely used in the management and support of adults with longterm illness. There is a need for larger and better-quality studies to explore this potentially important area further.

Citation

Jackson, M., Jones, D., Dyson, J., & Macleod, U. (2019). Facilitated group work for people with long-term conditions: a systematic review of benefits from studies of group-work interventions. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 69(682), E363-E372. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X702233

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Nov 6, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Apr 25, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-05
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2022
• Journal: British Journal of General Practice
• Print ISSN: 0960-1643
• Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 682
• Pages: E363-E372
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X702233
• Keywords: Chronic illness; Group therapy; Health professional facilitation; Systematic review
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1643788