Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on Acute Inpatient Mental Health Units on Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review.
Michael Graham, Philip Hodgson, Laura Fleming and 5 others
PMID 39988867WHAT IT FOUND
Compared with control groups, physical activity programmes in acute mental health wards improved mood, reduced anxiety, increased fitness or improved patient experience in some studies; others found no difference.
Evidence is too mixed to choose a programme.
Key findings
01Seven of the 12 studies reported mental health improvements favouring the intervention group.
02Two studies reported no differences between intervention and control groups for mental or physical health outcomes.
03The qualitative study reported positive patient impacts physically, mentally and socially, but staff reported conflict from added demands.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The evidence base was small and varied widely in activity type, duration, intensity, delivery and control condition. Many studies were underpowered, had high risk of bias, and poorly reported blinding, missing data and intervention details. Interventions were combined with usual care, so physical activity effects cannot be isolated. Only a few studies tracked physical activity behaviour during or after the intervention. No UK-based studies met inclusion criteria.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that physical activity alone has been proven effective on acute mental health wards. The review found mixed results, high risk of bias and too much variation to identify which intervention components helped.