Table 2 The study characteristics of single-group studies, stratified by study design
Single-group study(s) (n = 4) | |||||||
Author, year, country | Participants | Setting | Aim | Follow up | Outcome measure(s) | ||
Wang, 2016, [70•] China | Individuals with experience(s) of traumatic event in the previous 3–60 months and reported 2 or more PTSD symptoms | - Urban sample: Internet advertisements - Rural sample: counselling centre in Sichuan province | (1) how urban and rural participants used the CMTR program, including general program usage and program adherence, (2) how program use was related to demographics (ie, sex, age, highest level of education attained, marital status, and annual family income), health problems (ie, PTSD and depressive symptom severity, trauma duration), psychological factors (ie, coping self-efficacy), and social factors (ie, social functioning impairment and social support after trauma) before the intervention, and (3) how program use was associated with change in outcomes after the treatment and at 3-months’ follow-up | Long-term follow up: 3-month | - Social isolation outcomes: Crisis Support Scale - Other outcomes: PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, trauma coping self-efficacy, social functioning and program use | ||
Lee, 2018, [71•] Korea | Individuals (aged 20–65 years) diagnosed with PTSD following workplace accidents | Seoul National University Hospital and the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Association in Korea | To investigate the effectiveness of an online imagery-based program for treating the psychiatric symptoms of patients with PTSD related to workplace accidents. | End of treatment: 4-week | - Social isolation outcomes: social support network via Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ) - Other outcomes: depressed mood, anxiety symptoms, PTSD symptoms, positive changes that occur after traumatic event, suicidal ideation | ||
Goodwin, 2018, [72•] USA | Individuals (aged 18 years or older) with depressed mood or anhedonia and has visited primary care clinic in the previous 6 months | Primary care offices in urban and suburban areas in the USA | To examine helpfulness and safety of the Psycho-Babble | End of treatment: 6-week | - Social isolation outcomes: loneliness via loneliness item of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), perceived social support via Perceived Social Support from Friends scale - Other outcomes: depression, self-efficacy, hopelessness, self-harm ideation, program ratings, rate of concerning content on the ISG | ||
De Almeida, 2018, [73•] Portugal | Individuals (aged over 18 years) diagnosed with schizophrenia and attend psychosocial rehabilitation services | Outpatient mental health services centre in Portugal | To present the acceptability and model of analysis of weCOPE app | End of treatment: 8-week | - Social isolation outcomes: Social Support Satisfaction Scale - Other outcomes: recovery, empowerment, self-efficacy, personal and social performance, positive and negative symptoms | ||
Mixed-methods study(s) (n = 3) | |||||||
Author, year, country | Participants | Setting | Aim | Control group | Follow up | Data collection method | |
Quantitative: outcome measure(s) | Qualitative | ||||||
Loi, 2016, [74•] Australia | Older adults | Aged care specialized facility accommodating adults with a variety of psychiatric conditions | To investigate a structured training program on using the internet via touch technology (TT) to residents with psychiatric conditions living in residential care facility. | None | End of treatment: 6-week | - Social isolation outcomes: social isolation via Hawthorne Friendship scale - Other outcomes: self-esteem, familiarity of use and attitudes toward the Internet (via Internet questionnaire using 5-point Likert Scales) | Open-ended questions on the post-Internet questionnaire |
Chen, 2020, [75•] Taiwan | Older adults (aged 65 years or above) with depressed mood | Long-term care facilities with more than 100 beds in Southern Taiwan | To investigate the effect of a social robot intervention on depression, loneliness, and quality of life of older adults in long-term care and to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions after the intervention. | None | - Mid-term follow-up: A week before 8-week observation (T1), end of 8-week observation (T2), mid-point of 8-week intervention (T3) - End of treatment: end of 8-week intervention (T4) | - Social isolation outcomes: loneliness via UCLA-LS-3 - Other outcomes: depressed mood, quality of life | Individual semi-structured interview to explore participants’ experience and perceptions of participating in the Paro intervention |
Aschbrenner, 2016, [76•] USA | Adults (aged 21 or older) with a chart diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, MDD, or bipolar disorder; on stable pharmacological treatment and had body mass index (BMI) over 30 | An urban community mental health center in southern New Hampshire, USA | To explore peer-to-peer support among individuals participating in a group lifestyle intervention that included social media to enhance in person weight management sessions. | None | End of treatment: 24-week | - Social isolation outcomes: social support from group members (Social Provisions Scale-Short Form SPS-10) - Other outcomes: perceptions of the group environment | - Qualitative focus group interviews to elicit participants’ perceptions of peer-to-peer support throughout the overall intervention |