Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review
Abstract Background Expressive writing involves writing about stressful or traumatic experiences. Despite trials in people with advanced disease, no systematic review to date has critiqued the evidence on expressive writing in this population. To synthesise the evidence of the effects of expressive...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2019-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Palliative Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0449-y |
| _version_ | 1818296274822103040 |
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| author | N. Kupeli G. Chatzitheodorou N. A. Troop D. McInnerney P. Stone B. Candy |
| author_facet | N. Kupeli G. Chatzitheodorou N. A. Troop D. McInnerney P. Stone B. Candy |
| author_sort | N. Kupeli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Expressive writing involves writing about stressful or traumatic experiences. Despite trials in people with advanced disease, no systematic review to date has critiqued the evidence on expressive writing in this population. To synthesise the evidence of the effects of expressive writing on pain, sleep, depression and anxiety in people with advanced disease. Methods A systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. CINAHL, CENTRAL, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from January 1986 to March 2018. Other sources included clinical data registers and conference proceedings. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials that assessed the impact of an intervention involving expressive writing for adults with advanced disease and/or studies involving linguistic analysis on the expressive writing output. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool was used to assess the level of evidence for the outcomes of interest. The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42017058193). Results Six eligible studies with a total of 288 participants were identified, including four randomised controlled trials. All of the trials were in cancer and recruited predominantly women. None of the interventions were tailored to the population. Studies had methodological shortcomings and evidence was generally of low quality. Combined analysis of the four trials, involving 214 participants in total, showed no clear difference in the effect of expressive writing on sleep, anxiety or depression compared to an active control. Pain was not evaluated in the trials. In contrast, analysis of the four studies that included linguistic analysis alluded to linguistic mechanisms for potential effects. Conclusion Although the trial results suggest there is no benefit in expressive writing for people with advanced disease, the current evidence is limited. There is a need for more rigorous trials. It would be of benefit first to undertake exploratory research in trial design including how best to measure impact and in tailoring of the intervention to address the specific needs of people with advanced disease. Trial registration The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO, which can be accessed here (registration number: CRD42017058193). |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:00:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-795deb8994dd4cdd9b26628d1b1a2ad4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-684X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:00:56Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Palliative Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-795deb8994dd4cdd9b26628d1b1a2ad42022-12-22T00:00:29ZengBMCBMC Palliative Care1472-684X2019-08-0118111210.1186/s12904-019-0449-yExpressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic reviewN. Kupeli0G. Chatzitheodorou1N. A. Troop2D. McInnerney3P. Stone4B. Candy5Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, University College LondonDepartment of Psychology, City University of LondonDepartment of Psychology and Sport Sciences, University of HertfordshireMarie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, University College LondonMarie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, University College LondonMarie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, University College LondonAbstract Background Expressive writing involves writing about stressful or traumatic experiences. Despite trials in people with advanced disease, no systematic review to date has critiqued the evidence on expressive writing in this population. To synthesise the evidence of the effects of expressive writing on pain, sleep, depression and anxiety in people with advanced disease. Methods A systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. CINAHL, CENTRAL, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from January 1986 to March 2018. Other sources included clinical data registers and conference proceedings. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials that assessed the impact of an intervention involving expressive writing for adults with advanced disease and/or studies involving linguistic analysis on the expressive writing output. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool was used to assess the level of evidence for the outcomes of interest. The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42017058193). Results Six eligible studies with a total of 288 participants were identified, including four randomised controlled trials. All of the trials were in cancer and recruited predominantly women. None of the interventions were tailored to the population. Studies had methodological shortcomings and evidence was generally of low quality. Combined analysis of the four trials, involving 214 participants in total, showed no clear difference in the effect of expressive writing on sleep, anxiety or depression compared to an active control. Pain was not evaluated in the trials. In contrast, analysis of the four studies that included linguistic analysis alluded to linguistic mechanisms for potential effects. Conclusion Although the trial results suggest there is no benefit in expressive writing for people with advanced disease, the current evidence is limited. There is a need for more rigorous trials. It would be of benefit first to undertake exploratory research in trial design including how best to measure impact and in tailoring of the intervention to address the specific needs of people with advanced disease. Trial registration The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO, which can be accessed here (registration number: CRD42017058193).http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0449-yExpressive writingEmotional disclosureAdvanced diseasePalliative carePsychological changesLinguistic analyses |
| spellingShingle | N. Kupeli G. Chatzitheodorou N. A. Troop D. McInnerney P. Stone B. Candy Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review BMC Palliative Care Expressive writing Emotional disclosure Advanced disease Palliative care Psychological changes Linguistic analyses |
| title | Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review |
| title_full | Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review |
| title_short | Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review |
| title_sort | expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease a systematic review |
| topic | Expressive writing Emotional disclosure Advanced disease Palliative care Psychological changes Linguistic analyses |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0449-y |
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