Randomised controlled trials of occupational therapy interventions for adults with a mental health condition or dementia: A systematic review of study methods and outcome measurement.

Only studies published in English were included, so relevant work in other languages was missed. The reviewers excluded people living in nursing homes or continuing care and interventions given to carers alone, so the findings may not apply in those settings. Quality was judged from what the papers reported, so a well-run trial that described itself poorly would still be rated down. The quality tool used penalises trials where participants know which treatment they got, which is hard to avoid when the participant has to take an active part in occupational therapy, so some low ratings reflect the nature of the intervention rather than poor conduct. The studies varied too much in their interventions, outcomes and measures to be combined in a meta-analysis. The review examined study methods and outcome measurement, so it cannot say whether any of these interventions help. One of the reviewers was an author of a trial included in the review.

The review received no specific grant from any public, commercial or not-for-profit funding body. One author (JW) is an author of a trial included in the review.

Do not read this as evidence that occupational therapy does not work for mental health conditions or dementia. The review deliberately did not assess whether the interventions worked, only how the trials were run and what they measured, so poor quality ratings describe the studies rather than a lack of effect.