Effectiveness of sensory modulation for people with schizophrenia: A multisite quantitative prospective cohort study.
Tawanda Machingura, David Shum, Chris Lloyd and 3 others
PMID 35441391WHAT IT FOUND
Sensory modulation did not improve outcomes more than standard care in 41 people with schizophrenia.
Both groups improved similarly, so SM is not proven superior to usual treatment, though it may offer short-term distress relief as a complementary option.
Key findings
01There were no statistically significant differences in functional outcomes between the 30 participants who used sensory modulation and the 11 participants in the control group.
02Participants in the intervention group showed statistically significant pre-to-post improvements in self-rated distress and clinician-rated health and social functioning.
03People with schizophrenia had higher scores in Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding compared to the general population, indicating atypical sensory processing.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was not a randomized controlled trial; participants were allocated to groups based on practical reasons like staff availability and ward location, which introduces selection bias. The sample size was small (41 total) and the control group was very small (11), reducing statistical power. The control group had a higher proportion of participants in the acute phase of treatment, while the intervention group had more in the intensive extended phase, which may have influenced outcomes. The Emotions Rating Scale used for distress was not validated and was not administered to the control group, preventing direct comparison of distress changes between groups. Missing data were high (38%) and addressed via multiple imputation, which relies on assumptions that may not hold. The follow-up period was short (up to 6 months) and varied between participants due to discharge timing. The intervention was delivered by staff who were not blinded to the study hypothesis, though they were not told the specific hypothesis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and stated there was no significant financial support that could influence the publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Sensory Modulation is ineffective. The study found no significant difference between SM and standard care, but both groups improved. This suggests SM may be a useful complementary tool for distress relief, but it is not superior to existing treatments. The lack of a validated control measure for distress (ERS was only given to the intervention group) means we cannot fully compare distress changes between groups.