An overview of interventions used across the life span to support transitions of those with a neurological condition: A systematic review of reviews

Abstract

Objectives To systematically appraise published reviews on interventions used to support transitions for individuals with neurological conditions. Data sources MEDLINE, CINAHL, The Allied and Complementary Medicine, AMED, PsycINFO, Cochrane database of systematic reviews and Web of Science were searched between 31st December 2010 and 15th September 2022. Method The systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. The quality and risk of bias were measured using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2 and the Risk Of Bias In Systematic reviews’ tool. All types of reviews which involved participants with neurological conditions were included. Results Seven reviews met the inclusion criteria. A total of 172 studies were included in the reviews. Effectiveness of transition interventions could not be calculated due to the lack of data. The findings suggested that the use of health applications may be beneficial by increasing self-management capabilities and disease knowledge. Education and clear communication between healthcare providers and recipients may also have positive impacts on quality of life. Risk of bias was found to be high in four of the reviews. Four reviews had low or critically low levels of evidence. Conclusions There is a paucity of published evidence on interventions used to support the transitions of individuals with neurological conditions and the effect that these have on quality of life.