Better evidence for a better world
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Evidence and gap maps (EGMs)
Browse the collection of plain language summaries of Campbell EGMs by subject area
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Better evidence for a better world (250)
Additional Info
- Authors Jennifer Hanratty, Ciara Keenan, Sean R. O'Connor, Rachel Leonard, Yuan Chi, Janet Ferguson, Ariana Axiaq, Sarah Miller, Declan Bradley, Martin Dempster
- Published date 2023-06-22
- Coordinating group(s) Knowledge Translation and Implementation
- Type of document Plain language summary Evidence and gap map
- Title Psychological and psychosocial determinants of COVID health-related behaviours (COHeRe): An evidence and gap map
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- See the full review https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1336
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Most COVID-19 studies looked at the influence of sex, age and our perception of COVID-19 on social distancing, handwashing and face covering
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic there have been huge volumes of research looking at how different factors influence COVID-19 health protective behaviours: social distancing, face covering and handwashing. The majority of this research is focused on factors that cannot be altered through intervention, such as demographics (age and sex).
The interactive evidence and gap map (EGM) is available here.
What is this evidence and gap map (EGM) about?
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, health protective behaviours such as distancing and handwashing were the first line of defence to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Understanding why people do or do not engage in recommended behaviours is important to developing successful public health messaging, and to increase the number of people engaging in these behaviours.
This EGM summarises studies that measured one or more factors that might influence health protective behaviours, including handwashing, use of face coverings, social or physical distancing, and isolation or quarantine.
What is the aim of this EGM?
The aim of this EGM is to map the current research on different factors and health protective behaviours, such as social distancing, handwashing and face covering.
What studies are included?
The current map includes 1,034 pieces of evidence. This consists of 25 reviews (including 17 systematic reviews) and 1,009 primary studies. Of these, 860 were cross-sectional studies, 68 were longitudinal, and 78 were qualitative studies.
What are the main findings of this EGM?
There was lots of evidence on some behaviours (social distancing, handwashing, face covering) and very little on others (not touching your face, cleaning surfaces).
Social distancing had the most evidence (487 studies), followed by use of face coverings (382 studies) and handwashing (308 studies). Fewer studies looked at behaviours such as avoiding the T-zone (not touching your face), cleaning surfaces and respiratory hygiene practices (coughing into your elbow or tissue).
A large number of studies (333 studies) combined two or more protective behaviours within the one study. This makes it difficult to use these studies to look at how different factors may influence individual behaviours.
Across the studies there are significant differences in how different behaviours are defined. Some studies described social distancing as minimising contacts outside of the home, whereas others used the term to mean physical distancing from others (for example, keeping at least two metres apart).
In relation to the different factors influencing these behaviours, demographics was the most reported (730 studies), followed by cognitive factors (how people might perceive or think about COVID-19; 496 studies).
Fewer studies looked at the influence of factors such as interventions (for example, providing access to hand sanitiser), information on COVID-19 (for example, the different sources of information people received) and the impact of engaging in other protective behaviours (for example, if someone covered their face, would they be more or less likely to also social distance).
What do the findings of the map mean?
This EGM shows the available evidence on the different factors that may influence health protective behaviours such as distancing, face coverings and handwashing.
This EGM can be used to help guide future areas of research and public health policy during the current COVID-19 pandemic and any future outbreaks of respiratory viruses with pandemic potential.
Current evidence is largely focused on social distancing and the use of face coverings; and primarily on the influence of factors such as age or sex (demographics) on these behaviours. There are major gaps in the evidence base on other important health protective behaviours and the influence of factors other than age or sex.
How up-to-date is this EGM?
The authors searched for studies up to October 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Alison L. Weightman, Mark J. Kelson, Ian Thomas, Mala K. Mann, Lydia Searchfield, Simone Willis, Ben Hannigan, Robin J. Smith, Rhiannon Cordiner
- Published date 2023-05-17
- Coordinating group(s) Social Welfare
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta-analysis and thematic synthesis
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- See the full review https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1329
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Case management interventions improve housing stability for people experiencing homelessness and the effects may be increased with intensive support
Homelessness is an important problem and case management support may provide part of the solution. This review includes some guidance for current practice and policy and recommendations for future research, including an expansion of the research base outside North America.
What is this review about?
Many millions of people experience homelessness, potentially leading to poorer health and wellbeing outcomes, and a lower life expectancy. We present evidence on a wide range of interventions that include a case manager to help the individual client to find stable housing.
What is the aim of this review?
This Campbell systematic review examines studies of case management programmes for people experiencing homelessness to help identify the components most likely to increase the chances of improvements in housing, health and wider outcomes.
What studies are included?
We looked, specifically, for any findings to help identify the individual components of case management such as the period over which support is provided, the number of clients per case manager, and whether there are conditions attached to this support from the client’s point of view.
We explored the effects of these interventions on homelessness and other outcomes such as mental health, substance use, physical heath, wellbeing and employment.
What are the main findings of this review?
Case management effectiveness overall:
Any type of case management clearly improves homelessness outcomes for people with additional support needs, and this may be more effective for people who also have greater levels of additional need for support. Case management also increases wellbeing for the population in the included studies, at least in the short term.
Across the full body of evidence, it does not appear that the included interventions improve mental health, and there is no evidence of improvement in employment, physical health or substance use.
Time spent in stable housing may be increased when case management is more intensive. The multi-component Housing First approach may be more effective than other types of intensive case management.
Case management components:
In terms of housing outcomes, support for up to three years leads to improvements in stable housing. These benefits may be reduced over the longer term but still persist, suggesting that very long-term support should be provided.
In-person meetings with the case manager appear to be beneficial when compared with remote or mixed (remote/in-person) meetings but many studies did not describe meeting location(s).
Although there was not enough evidence from the intervention studies, there is consistent evidence from the implementation studies that any barriers attached to case management support (i.e. conditions that must be met to receive that support) should be minimised.
Supporting case managers:
A number of themes arise from the implementation studies that are relevant to the components of a case management programme. These include the importance of a close working relationship across agencies; provision for the non-housing support and training needs of clients experiencing homelessness; community support and development for the newly-housed; providing for the emotional support and training needs of case managers; and giving clients choice in relation to the type of housing provided.
Cost effectiveness:
The available studies vary in their findings. It is likely that case management is more costly than usual care but may be cost-effective if society is ‘willing to pay’ a certain amount to support people experiencing homelessness into stable housing.
What do the findings of this review mean?
Case management helps people experiencing homelessness who have additional support needs to obtain stable accommodation, and is even more helpful for those with higher levels of support needs.
High intensity multicomponent approaches such as Housing First may lead to greater benefits. There is also some evidence for improvements to capabilities and wellbeing but, notably, they do not appear to impact mental health outcomes any more than usual care.
There is some evidence that case management support should be long term, that meetings in person with clients are beneficial, and any conditions associated with provision of the service should be minimised.
How up-to-date is this review?
The review authors searched for studies that were reported up to March 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Rhéda Adekpedjou, Pascale Léon, Omar Dewidar, Ali Al-Zubaidi, Jalila Jbilou, Janusz Kaczorowski, John Muscedere, John Hirdes, George Heckman, Magali Girard, Paul C. Hébert
- Published date 2023-05-09
- Coordinating group(s) Ageing
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Effectiveness of interventions to address different types of vulnerabilities in community-dwelling older adults: An umbrella review
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- See the full review https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1323
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Diets, exercise and digital approaches may improve frailty, social isolation or loneliness in older adults
Exercise alone and in combination with diet may prevent frailty and improve social functioning in community-dwelling older adults. Similarly, digital tools like connecting with others through the internet may be effective in reducing loneliness. However, there is no clear evidence that such programmes are effective in groups including the LGBTQ2+ community and ethnic minorities.
What is this review of reviews about?
Social isolation, loneliness and frailty are a serious public health risks that that affect many older adults, specifically people living in their own homes. Several interventions have been proposed to reduce these vulnerabilities. However, the effectiveness of these interventions is inconsistent in the general population, and unknown in specific populations.
What is the aim of this review?
This review of reviews summarises evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving social isolation, loneliness and frailty among older adults. It also identifies gaps in evidence where further systematic review evidence is needed.
What studies are included?
We included 27 reviews that were comprised of 372 unique primary studies. The vast majority of the reviews included studies that were conducted in high-income countries. Most reviews talked about either social isolation or loneliness.
Half of the reviews included studies with simple interventions, while the other half were more complicated, with many components.
Many of the studies had important weaknesses.
What are the main findings of this review?
Systematic reviews suggest that exercise combined with nutritional supplementation have the highest odds of decreasing frailty, compared to nutritional supplementation of proteins alone at 3-4 months of follow-up.
Similarly, grip strength significantly improves when participants exercise and take protein supplements. Physical activity interventions also improve social functioning and reduce social isolation and loneliness.
There is a lot of conflicting evidence and inadequate reporting of results to determine effectiveness.
We were unable to find studies that looked at minority groups.
What do the findings of this review mean?
Even though there is evidence in support of some interventions, only a small number of reviews systematically compared effects of interventions on social isolation and loneliness.
More studies are needed addressing other vulnerable groups or older adults living with vulnerabilities. This would allow for more definitive recommendations regarding the effectiveness of interventions for reducing frailty, social isolation and loneliness.
How up-to-date is this review?
The search was conducted up to December 2022.
Additional Info
- Authors Ashrita Saran, Xanthe Hunt, Howard White, Hannah Kuper
- Published date 2023-03-21
- Coordinating group(s) Disability
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Effectiveness of interventions for improving social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1316
- Records available in English, Spanish, Portuguese
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Social inclusion interventions in low- and middle-income settings have a meaningful positive effect on people with disabilities
There is promising evidence that interventions can improve the social skills and relationships of people with disabilities in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. However, there is a lack of evidence on what works to improve social inclusion and community participation for this group.
What is this review about?
There are approximately one billion people with disabilities. They are frequently excluded from social and political activities, which is a violation of their fundamental rights. A core reason for the exclusion is that people with disabilities often experience stigmatising attitudes and behaviours from others. Inaccessible environments and systems, and institutional barriers also contribute to discrimination against people with disabilities.
Social inclusion outcomes can be improved through interventions designed to develop skills for social inclusion (e.g. social and communication skill training), broad-based social inclusion (e.g. enhancing access and participation in sports and the arts) and improved relationships (e.g. social support and violence prevention).
What is the aim of this review?
In this review, we examine the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in LMICs.
What studies are included?
We identified a broad range of interventions that reported improvements in social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in LMICs. Many of the studies had methodological limitations, which means that the confidence in the study findings was generally low.
We present the findings from 37 studies that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions on social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in LMICs. The studies were conducted between 2000 and 2022. Studies were conducted in 16 countries, with 12 in India and six in China.
What are the main findings of this review?
The findings of the review suggest that social inclusion interventions have a substantial and positive effect on the social behaviour, social skills, and broad-based social inclusion of persons with disabilities.
A moderate effect was reported from interventions designed to improve relationships between people with disabilities and their families and communities.
What do the findings of the review mean?
This review highlights promising evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities.
Evidence on interventions for people with disabilities has, however, been primarily focused on interventions at the individual level, such as enhancing social skills and relationships.
There is a gap in evidence on community-level interventions that address societal barriers to inclusion, such as stigma reduction, and system-level interventions that improve legislation, infrastructure and institutions.
How up-to-date is this review?
The review authors searched for studies up to March 2022.
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Spanish
RESUMEN EN LENGUAJE SENCILLO
Intervenciones de inclusión social en entornos de baja y mediana renta tienen un efecto positivo significativo en las personas con discapacidad
Hay evidencia prometedora de que las intervenciones pueden mejorar las habilidades sociales y las relaciones de personas con discapacidad en contextos de países de renta baja y media. Sin embargo, faltan evidencias de lo que funciona para mejorar la inclusión social y participación comunitaria para este grupo.
¿De qué trata esta revisión?
Hay aproximadamente mil millones de personas con discapacidades. A menudo son excluidas de las actividades sociales y políticas, lo cual es una violación de sus derechos fundamentales. Una razón central de esta exclusión es que las personas con discapacidades a menudo experimentan actitudes y comportamientos estigmatizantes por parte de los demás. Los entornos y sistemas inaccesibles, así como las barreras institucionales, también contribuyen a la discriminación contra las personas con discapacidades.
Los resultados de la inclusión social pueden mejorarse a través de intervenciones diseñadas para desarrollar habilidades para la inclusión social (por ejemplo, entrenamiento en habilidades sociales y de comunicación), una inclusión social amplia (por ejemplo, mejorar el acceso y la participación en deportes y artes) y relaciones mejoradas (por ejemplo, apoyo social y prevención de la violencia).
¿Cuál es el objetivo de esta revisión?
En esta revisión, examinamos la efectividad de las intervenciones diseñadas para mejorar los resultados de inclusión social para personas con discapacidades en países de renta baja y media (PRBM).
¿Qué estudios se incluyeron?
Hemos identificado una amplia gama de intervenciones que informaron mejoras en los resultados de inclusión social para las personas con discapacidades en países de renta baja y media.
Muchos de los estudios presentaron limitaciones metodológicas, lo que significa que la confianza en los hallazgos del estudio fue generalmente baja.
Presentamos los hallazgos de 37 estudios que evaluaron la efectividad de las intervenciones en los resultados de inclusión social para personas con discapacidades en países de renta baja y media. Los estudios fueron realizados entre 2000 y 2022. Los estudios se llevaron a cabo en 16 países, 12 de ellos en India y 6 en China.
¿Cuáles son los principales hallazgos de esta revisión?
Los hallazgos de la revisión sugieren que las intervenciones de inclusión social tienen un efecto sustancial y positivo en el comportamiento social, las habilidades sociales y la inclusión social amplia de las personas con discapacidades.
Se informó un efecto moderado de las intervenciones diseñadas para mejorar las relaciones entre las personas con discapacidades y sus familias y comunidades.
¿Qué significan los hallazgos de la revisión?
Los hallazgos de la revisión significan que hay evidencia prometedora sobre la efectividad de las intervenciones para mejorar la inclusión social de las personas con discapacidades.
Sin embargo, la evidencia sobre las intervenciones para personas con discapacidades se ha centrado principalmente en intervenciones a nivel individual, como mejorar habilidades sociales y relaciones.
Existe una brecha en la evidencia sobre intervenciones a nivel comunitario que aborden las barreras sociales a la inclusión, como la reducción del estigma, las intervenciones a nivel sistémico que mejoren la legislación, la infraestructura y las instituciones.
¿Qué tan actualizada esta revisión?
Los autores de la revisión buscaron estudios hasta marzo de 2022.
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Portuguese
RESUMO DE LINGUAGEM SIMPLES
Intervenções de inclusão social em ambientes de baixa e média renda tem um efeito positivo significativo em pessoas com deficiência
Existe evidência promissora de que intervenções podem melhorar as habilidades sociais e relações de pessoas com deficiência em cenários de países de baixa e média renda. Entretanto, existe uma falta de evidência sobre o que funciona para melhorar a inclusão social e a participação na comunidade para este grupo.
Sobre o que é esta revisão?
Existe aproximadamente 1 bilhão de pessoas com deficiência. Eles são frequentemente excluídos das atividades sociais e políticas, o que é uma violação de seus direitos fundamentais. Um dos principais motivos para a exclusão é que as pessoas com deficiência frequentemente sofrem com atitudes e comportamentos estigmatizantes de outras pessoas. Ambientes e sistemas inacessíves, barreiras institucionais também contribuem para a discriminação contra as pessoas com deficiência.
Resultados de inclusão social podem ser melhorados através de intervenções desenhadas para desenvolver habilidades para a inclusão social (ex: treinamento de habilidades comunicativas e sociais), inclusão social de base ampla (ex; aprimoramento do acesso e da participação em esportes e artes) e melhora das relações (ex: apoio social e prevenção de violência).
Qual é o objetivo desta revisão?
Nesta revisão, nós examinamos a efetividade das intervenções desenhadas para melhorar os resultados de inclusão social para pessoas com deficiência em países de média e baixa renda (PMBR).
Quais estudos estão incluídos?
Identificamos uma ampla gama de intervenções que relataram melhoras nos resultados de inclusão social para pessoas com deficiência em PMBR. Muitos estudos tinham limitações metodológicas, o que significa que a confiança nos achados dos estudos era geralmente baixa.
Apresentamos o que foi encontrado em 37 estudos que avaliaram a efetividade de intervenções em resultados de inclusão social para pessoas com deficiência em PMBR. Os estudos foram conduzidos entre 2000 e 2022. Estudos foram conduzidos em 16 países, com 12 na Índia e 6 na China.
Quais são os principais achados desta revisão?
Os achados desta revisão sugerem que as intervenções de inclusão social têm um efeito positivo e substancial no comportamento social, nas habilidades sociais, e na inclusão social de ampla base de pessoas com deficiência.
Um efeito moderado foi relatado em intervenções desenhadas para melhorar as relações entre pessoas com deficiência e seus familiares e comunidades.
O que os achados da revisão significam?
A revisão destaca evidência promissora quanto a efetividade de intervenções para melhora da inclusão social de pessoas com deficiência.
Evidência sobre intervenções para pessoas com deficiência, porém, tem sido primariamente focada nas intervenções no nível individual,como o aprimoramento das habilidades sociais e das relações.
Existe uma lacuna de evidência nas intervenções no nível da comunidade para tratar as barreiras sociais para a inclusão, como a redução do estigma, intervenções do nível do sistema que melhorem a legislação, a infraestrutura e as instituições.
O quão atualizada está esta revisão?
Os autores da revisão pesquisaram estudos até março de 2022.
Additional Info
- Authors Emma Reith-Hall, Paul Montgomery
- Published date 2023-02-23
- Coordinating group(s) Social Welfare
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1309
- Records available in English, Spanish, Portuguese
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Communication skills training helps improve how social work students interact with the people they safeguard and support
Communication skills training, including empathy training, can help social work students to develop their communication skills. Opportunities to practise communication skills in a safe and supportive environment through role-play and/or simulation, with feedback and reflection, helps students to improve their skills. The effect of doing this training face-to-face, online or via blended learning is largely unknown.
What is this review about?
Good communication skills are important for social work practice and are commonly taught on social work qualifying courses. There is a range of different types of educational interventions, with wide variations in theoretical basis, approach, duration and mode of delivery. This systematic review looks at whether different interventions are effective in producing the following outcomes: social work students’ knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviours.
What is the aim of this review?
This Campbell systematic review assesses whether communication skills training for social work students works, and which types of communication skills training, if any, were more effective and led to the most positive outcomes.
What studies are included?
This review summarises quantitative data from randomised and non-randomised studies. The 15 studies included in this review were undertaken in Canada, Australia and North America. The research is very limited in terms of scope and quality, and there are important weaknesses in the evidence base.
Does communication skills training improve the communicative abilities of social work students?
Systematic communication skills training shows some promising effects in the development of social work students’ communicative abilities, especially in terms of their ability to demonstrate empathy and interviewing skills.
What do the findings of the review mean?
Communication is very important for social work practice, so we need to ensure that student social workers have opportunities to develop their communication skills.
Too few studies fully assessed student characteristics such as age, sex and ethnicity or took account of how previous experience, commitments and motivation affected students’ learning.
Consideration of stakeholder involvement and collaboration (such as by people with lived experience) was also lacking. Only the role of the educator was considered.
The studies were largely of poor quality and investigated many different implementation features, which made it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about what makes the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education effective.
Researchers conducting studies into communication skills training should seek to carry out robust and rigorous outcomes-focused studies. They should also consider trying to see how and where these interventions might work, as well as understanding for whom they may be effective.
How up-to-date is this review?
The review authors searched for studies that had been published until 15 June 2021.
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Spanish
RESUMEN EN LENGUAJE SENCILLO
La capacitación en habilidades de comunicación contribuye a mejorar la forma en la que los estudiantes de trabajo social interactúan con las personas a las que brindan cuidado y apoyan
El entrenamiento en habilidades de comunicación, incluyendo el entrenamiento en empatía, puede ayudar a los estudiantes de trabajo social a desarrollar sus habilidades de comunicación. Las oportunidades para practicar habilidades de comunicación en un ambiente seguro y de apoyo a través de juegos de rol y/o simulaciones, con retroalimentación y reflexión, ayuda a los estudiantes a mejorar sus habilidades. El efecto de hacer este entrenamiento cara a cara, en línea o a través de un aprendizaje combinado es en gran parte desconocido.
¿De qué se trata esta revisión?
Las buenas habilidades comunicativas son importantes para la práctica del trabajo social y se enseñan habitualmente en los cursos de cualificación para el trabajo social. Existe una gama de diferentes tipos de intervenciones educativas, con amplias variaciones en la base teórica, el enfoque, la duración y el modo de entrega. Esta revisión sistemática analiza si las diferentes intervenciones son efectivas para producir los siguientes desenlaces: conocimientos, actitudes, habilidades y conductas de los estudiantes de trabajo social.
¿Cuál es el objetivo de esta revisión?
El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática de Campbell es evaluar si el entrenamiento en habilidades de comunicación para estudiantes de trabajo social funciona, y qué tipos de entrenamiento en habilidades de comunicación, si es que hay alguno, fueron más efectivos y llevaron a los resultados más positivos.
¿Qué estudios se incluyeron?
Esta revisión incluye datos cuantitativos de estudios aleatorizados y no aleatorizados. Se incluyeron 15 estudios que se realizaron en Canadá, Australia y América del Norte. Sin embargo, se destaca que la investigación es muy limitada en términos de alcance y calidad, y existen debilidades importantes en la base de la evidencia.
¿La formación en habilidades de comunicación mejora las capacidades comunicativas de los estudiantes de trabajo social?
El entrenamiento sistemático en habilidades de comunicación muestra algunos efectos prometedores en el desarrollo de las habilidades comunicativas de los estudiantes de trabajo social, especialmente en términos de su capacidad para demostrar empatía y habilidades de entrevista.
¿Qué significan las conclusiones de la revisión?
La comunicación es una parte fundamental para los practicantes de trabajo social, por eso, es necesario asegurar que los estudiantes de trabajo social tengan oportunidades para desarrollar sus habilidades de comunicación.
Muy pocos estudios evaluaron plenamente las características de los estudiantes, como la edad, el sexo y el origen étnico, o tuvo en cuenta la experiencia previa, los compromisos y la motivación que afectan el aprendizaje de los estudiantes.
Tampoco se tuvo en cuenta la participación y colaboración de las partes interesadas (por ejemplo, de personas con experiencias vividas). Sólo se tuvo en cuenta el papel del educador.
Los estudios eran, en su mayoría, de baja calidad e investigaban muchas características de aplicación diferentes, lo que dificulta la extracción de conclusiones firmes sobre lo que hace eficaz la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las habilidades comunicativas en la formación de estudiantes de trabajo social.
Los investigadores que realicen estudios sobre la formación en habilidades de comunicación deben esforzarse por llevar a cabo investigaciones sólidas y rigurosas que se centren en los resultados. Además, deberían explorar la viabilidad de estas intervenciones, investigando cómo y dónde podrían ser efectivas, así como comprender para quién podrían resultar eficaces.
¿Qué tan actualizada es esta revisión?
Los autores de la revisión buscaron estudios publicados hasta el 15 de junio de 2021.
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Portuguese
RESUMO DE LINGUAGEM SIMPLES
O treinamento de habilidades de comunicação ajuda a melhorar a forma como os alunos de assistência social interagem com as pessoas de quem eles cuidam e apoiam
O treinamento de habilidades de comunicação, incluindo o treinamento de empatia, pode ajudar alunos de serviço social a desenvolverem suas habilidades de comunicação. Oportunidades para praticar as habilidades de comunicação num ambiente seguro e solidário através de encenação e/ou simulação, com feedback e reflexão, ajuda os alunos a melhorar suas habilidades. O efeito de fazer este treinamento presencial, on-line ou por meio de aprendizagem combinada, é amplamente desconhecido.
Do que trata esta revisão?
Boas habilidades de comunicação são importantes para a prática da assistência social e são comumente ensinadas em cursos de qualificação em assistência social. Existe uma variedade de diferentes tipos de intervenções educativas, com amplas variações em fundamentação teórica, abordagem, duração e modo de entrega. Esta revisão sistemática analisa se diferentes intervenções são efetivas na produção dos seguintes desfechos: conhecimentos dos estudantes de serviço social, atitudes, habilidades e comportamentos.
Qual é o objetivo desta revisão?
Esta revisão sistemática de Campbell avalia se o treinamento de habilidades de comunicação para estudantes de serviço social funciona e quais tipos de treinamento de habilidades de comunicação, se houver, foram mais eficazes e levaram aos resultados mais positivos.
Quais estudos estão inclusos?
Esta revisão resume dados quantitativos de estudos randomizados e não randomizados. Os 15 estudos incluídos nesta revisão foram conduzidos no Canadá, Austrália, e América do Norte. A pesquisa é bastante limitada em termos de escopo e qualidade, e existem debilidades importantes na base de evidências.
O treinamento de habilidades de comunicação melhora as habilidades dos estudantes de assistencia social?
O treinamento de habilidades de comunicação sistemático mostra alguns efeitos promissores no desenvolvimento das habilidades comunicativas dos estudantes de assitencia social, especialmente em termos da habilidade deles em demonstrar empatia e habilidades de entrevista.
O que os achados da revisão significam?
A comunicação é muito importante para a prática do serviço social, então nós precisamos garantir que os estudantes de assistência social tenham oportunidade de desenvolver suas habilidades de comunicação.
Somente alguns poucos estudos avaliaram completamente as características do estudantes como idade, sexo, etnia, ou considerou como experiências prévias, compromissos e motivação afetavam o aprendizados dos estudantes.
Também faltaram a consideração de colaboração e do envolvimento das partes interessadas (atores) (como pelas pessoas que viveram a experiência). Somente o papel do educador foi considerado.
Os estudos eram, em sua maioria, de baixa qualidade e investigavam muitas características diferentes de implementação, o que dificultava tirar conclusões definitivas sobre o que torna eficaz o ensino e a aprendizagem de habilidades de comunicação na educação em assitencia social.
Pesquisadores que realizam estudos sobre o treinamento de habilidades de comunicação deveriam buscar realizar estudos robustos e rigorosos com foco nos resultados. Eles deveriam também considerar a possibilidade de tentar ver como e onde essas intervenções podem funcionar, bem como entender para quem elas podem ser eficazes.
O quão atualizada está esta revisão?
Os autores da revisão pesquisaram por estudos que foram publicados até 15 de junho de 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Fiona Campbell, Rebecca Whear, Morwenna Rogers, Anthea Sutton, Ellie Robinson-Carter, Jane Barlow, Richard Sharpe, Stuart Cohen, Louise Wolstenholme, Joanna Thompson-Coon
- Published date 2023-02-16
- Coordinating group(s) Ageing
- Type of document Plain language summary Evidence and gap map
- Title Non-familial intergenerational interventions and their impact on social and mental wellbeing of both younger and older people: A mapping review and evidence and gap map
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Library Image
- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1306
- Records available in English, Spanish, Portuguese
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Large evidence base for impact of intergenerational interventions involving young and old, but many gaps in research
There is a considerable body of research evidence on intergenerational interventions and their impact on older people and children and young people. However, there are still many research gaps, and primary research could benefit from more consistency in outcome reporting.
The interactive evidence and gap map (EGM) is available here.
What is this evidence and gap map about?
Opportunities for social connection between generations in the UK have diminished over the last few decades because of changes in the way that we live and work. The Office for National Statistics Community Life Survey 2020-2021 reports that 6% of adults in the UK said they often or always felt lonely. People aged 16 to 24 were significantly more likely to report feeling lonely often or always, which is 11% of that age group. Nine percent of people aged 65 years and over reported the same.
Evidence suggests that intergenerational activity can have a positive impact on participants, for example, in reducing loneliness and exclusion for both older people and children and young people, improving mental health, increasing mutual understanding, and addressing important issues such as ageism, housing and care.
However, knowing what to implement, how and for whom is complex due to the lack of evidence about their effectiveness, transferability of effects across settings and cost-effectiveness. This evidence gap map (EGM) identifies the nature, volume and types of intergenerational interventions found in the research literature. It identifies areas for future research and evidence synthesis to help decision makers make more informed choices.
What is the aim of this evidence and gap map (EGM)?
The aim of this EGM is to identify all the existing research evidence on intergenerational interventions to improve understanding about intergenerational activities in terms of the health and social care outcomes of older people, younger people and children, and to inform future research.
What studies are included?
The EGM includes 500 research articles of any design on intergenerational interventions that do not include family members. The evidence comes from 27 countries.
We identified 26 systematic reviews, 236 quantitative comparative studies (of which 38 were randomised controlled trials), 227 qualitative studies (or had a qualitative element), 105 observational studies (or had elements of observational methods) and 82 with a mixed-methods approach.
What are the main findings of this EGM?
The most commonly reported outcomes for children and young people were attitudes towards older people, knowledge and attainment, and intergenerational interactions.
For older people the most commonly reported outcomes were mental wellbeing, agency, attitudes towards younger people, and intergenerational interactions.
We identified several gaps in the research, including research on mutual, societal and community outcomes, young people’s mental health, loneliness, social isolation, peer interactions, physical health and health promotion, outcomes centred on caregiver wellbeing, mental health and attitudes, and adverse or unexpected outcomes, including economic outcomes.
Interventions were most commonly delivered in schools, in the community or in care homes.
Interventions most commonly involved activities related to sharing perspectives of being an older or younger person/child, spending time together, helping with chores, helping more generally within a school environment, mentoring, art and crafts to engage the generations together, learning or sharing music and playing games.
What do the findings of this EGM mean?
The EGM provides a starting point for researchers and decisionmakers to access the available research evidence on the effectiveness of intergenerational interventions.
The map demonstrates considerable diversity in the types of intergenerational activity. It also shows that it is mainly demonstration projects that are evaluated.
The quality of the evaluations makes analysis of their effectiveness, and hence their impact on shaping practice and policy, limited.
Methods of supporting useful evaluations of these types of interventions – so they are measuring meaningful outcomes – is needed. This EGM identifies many areas where there are still gaps in research.
How up-to-date is this EGM?
The authors searched for studies published up to July 2021.
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Spanish
RESUMEN EN LENGUAJE SENCILLO
Amplia base de datos sobre el impacto de las intervenciones intergeneracionales con jóvenes y adultos mayores, pero muchas lagunas en la investigación
Hay un cuerpo considerable de evidencia de investigación sobre las intervenciones intergeneracionales y su impacto en las personas mayores y los niños y jóvenes. Sin embargo, todavía existen muchas lagunas o brechas en la investigación, y la investigación primaria podría beneficiarse de una mayor consistencia en el informe de resultados.
Se puede acceder al MBE interactivo a través del siguiente link.
¿De qué se trata este mapa de brechas de evidencias (MBE)?
Las oportunidades de conexión social entre generaciones en el Reino Unido han disminuido en las últimas décadas debido a los cambios en la manera en que vivimos y trabajamos. La Encuesta sobre la vida en la comunidad de la Oficina Nacional de Estadística 2020-2021 informa de que el 6% de los adultos del Reino Unido afirma que a menudo o siempre se sienten solos. Las personas de entre 16 y 24 años eran mucho más propensas a reportar sentirse solas a menudo o siempre, lo que supone el 11% de ese grupo de edad. El 9% de las personas mayores de 65 años declararon lo mismo.
La evidencia sugiere que la actividad intergeneracional puede tener un impacto positivo en los participantes, por ejemplo, en la reducción de la soledad y la exclusión tanto para las personas mayores como para los niños y jóvenes, mejorando la salud mental, aumentando la comprensión mutua y abordando cuestiones importantes como la discriminación por motivos de edad, vivienda y cuidados.
Sin embargo, saber qué poner en práctica, cómo y para quién es complejo debido a la falta de evidencias sobre su eficacia, la transferibilidad de los efectos entre entornos y la costo-efectividad. Este mapa de brechas de evidencias identifica la naturaleza, el volumen y los tipos de intervenciones intergeneracionales que se encuentran en la literatura de investigación. Se identifican áreas de futuras investigaciones y síntesis de evidencia para ayudar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones a tomar decisiones más informadas.
¿Cuál es el objetivo de este mapa de brechas de evidencias (MBE)?
El objetivo de este MBE es identificar toda la evidencia de investigaciones sobre intervenciones intergeneracionales para comprender mejor las actividades intergeneracionales en términos de salud y la asistencia social de las personas mayores, los jóvenes y los niños para orientar futuras investigaciones.
¿Qué estudios se incluyeron?
El MBE incluye 500 artículos de investigación de cualquier diseño sobre intervenciones intergeneracionales que no incluyan a miembros de la familia. La evidencia procede de 27 países.
Identificamos 26 revisiones sistemáticas, 236 estudios comparativos cuantitativos (de los cuales 38 eran ensayos controlados aleatorizados), 227 estudios cualitativos (o tenían un elemento cualitativo), 105 estudios observacionales (o tenían elementos de métodos observacionales) y 82 con un enfoque de métodos mixtos.
¿Cuáles son las principales conclusiones de este MBE?
Los resultados más comúnmente reportados por niños y jóvenes fueron actitudes hacia las personas mayores, conocimientos y logros, e interacciones intergeneracionales.
En el caso de las personas mayores, los resultados más comunes fueron el bienestar mental, la agencia, las actitudes hacia los jóvenes y las interacciones intergeneracionales.
Identificamos varias lagunas en la investigación, incluida la investigación sobre resultados mutuos, sociales y comunitarios, la salud mental de los jóvenes, la soledad, el aislamiento social, las interacciones entre iguales, la salud física y la promoción de la salud, los resultados centrados en el bienestar de los cuidadores, la salud mental y las actitudes, y los resultados adversos o inesperados, incluyendo los resultados económicos.
Por lo general, las intervenciones se llevaron a cabo en escuelas, en la comunidad o en hogares de cuidado.
La mayoría de las intervenciones consistieron en actividades relacionadas con el intercambio de perspectivas de ser una persona de edad o más joven, pasar tiempo juntos, ayudar en las tareas domésticas, ayudar en el entorno escolar, la tutoría, el arte y la artesanía para unir a las generaciones, aprender o compartir música y jugar juegos.
¿Qué significan las conclusiones de este MBE?
El MBE constituye un punto de partida para que los investigadores y responsables de la toma de decisiones accedan a la evidencia de investigación disponible sobre la eficacia de las intervenciones intergeneracionales.
El mapa demuestra una considerable diversidad en los tipos de actividad intergeneracional. También muestra que son principalmente los proyectos de demostración los que se evalúan.
La calidad de las evaluaciones hace que el análisis de su eficacia y, por tanto, su impacto en la práctica y la política sea limitado.
Se necesitan métodos para apoyar evaluaciones útiles de este tipo de intervenciones, de modo que midan resultados significativos. Este MBE identifica muchas áreas en las que todavía hay lagunas en la investigación.
¿Hasta qué punto está actualizada esta revisión?
Los autores de la revisión buscaron estudios publicados hasta el 15 de junio de 2021.
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Portuguese
RESUMO DE LINGUAGEM SIMPLES
Grande base de evidência para o impacto das intervenções intergeracionais envolvendo jovens e idosos, mas muitas lacunas de pesquisa
Existe um considerável conjunto de evidências de pesquisa sobre intervenções intergeracionais e seus impactos em idosos, crianças e jovens. Porém, ainda há muitas lacunas de pesquisa, e a pesquisa primária se beneficiaria com uma maior consistência dos resultados.
O MLE inteativo pode ser acessado aqui: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/assets/18911803/EPPI%20Mapper-1674483613.html
Do que trata este mapa de lacunas de evidência?
Oportunidades para a conexão social entre as gerações no Reino Unido diminuíram ao longo das últimas décadas devido a mudanças na forma de morar e trabalhar. O Escritório de Estatísticas Nacionais em Pesquisa sobre Vida Comunitária 2020-2021 relata que 6% dos adultos no Reino Unido disseram que frequentemente ou sempre sentiam-se sozinhos. Pessoas com idade entre 16 e 24 anos tinham maior probabilidade de relatar sentirem-se sozinhos frequentemente ou sempre, o que representa 11% deste grupo etário. Nove por cento das pessoas com 65 anos ou mais relataram o mesmo.
As evidências sugerem que a atividade intergeracional pode ter um impacto positivo nos participantes, por exemplo, em reduzir solidão e exclusão tanto para idosos como para crianças e jovens, melhorando a saúde mental, aumentando a compreensão mútua, e tratando questões importantes como o preconceito de idade, a moradia e o cuidado.
Entretanto, saber o que implementar, como e para quem, é complexo devido à falta de evidências sobre a efetividade, a transferibilidade dos resultados em diferentes contextos e seu custo-benefício. Este mapa de lacunas de evidência (MLE) identifica a natureza, o volume e os tipos de intervenções intergeracionais encontrados na literatura de pesquisa. Ele identifica áreas para futuras pesquisas e sínteses de evidências para ajudar os tomadores de decisão a fazerem escolhas melhor informadas.
Qual é o objetivo deste mapa de lacunas de evidências (MLE)?
O objetivo deste MLE é identificar toda a evidência de pesquisa existente em intervenções intergeracionais para melhorar o entendimento sobre atividades intergeracionais em termos dos resultados de cuidados de saúde e social em idosos, jovens e crianças, e para informar pesquisas futuras.
Quais estudos estão inclusos?
O MLE inclui 500 artigos de pesquisa de qualquer desenho em intervenções intergeracionais que não incluam membros da família. A evidência vem de 27 países.
Nós identificamos 26 revisões sistemáticas, 236 estudos comparativos quantitativos (das quais 38 foram ensaios controlados randomizados), 227 estudos qualitativos (ou tiveram um elemento qualitativo), 105 estudos observacionais (ou tiveram elementos de métodos observacionais) e 82 com uma abordagem de métodos mistos.
Quais são os principais achados do MLE?
Os resultados relatados mais comuns para crianças e jovens foram as atitudes com os idosos, conhecimento e aprendizado, e interações intergeracionais.
Para idosos os resultados mais comumente relatados foram o bem estar mental, a agência, e as atitudes com os jovens, e as interações intergeracionais.
Nós identificamos várias lacunas na pesquisa, incluindo pesquisas sobre resultados mútuos, sociais e comunitários, a saúde mental dos jovens, a solidão, o isolamento social, as interações com pares, a saúde física e a promoção de saúde, sobre resultados voltados ao bem-estar, a saúde mental e as atitudes dos cuidadores, e sobre resultados adversos e inesperados, incluindo resultados econômicos.
As intervenções foram mais comumente desenvolvidas em escolas, na comunidade ou em casas de repouso.
As intervenções envolviam mais comumente atividades relacionadas ao compartilhamento de perspectivas sobre ser uma pessoa idosa ou jovem, ao passar tempo juntos, ajudando nas tarefas, ajudando de forma geral no ambiente escolar, à mentoria, à arte e o artesanato para engajar as gerações conjuntamente, aprendendo ou compartilhando música e jogando jogos.
O que os achados do MLE significam?
O MLE provê um ponto de partida para pesquisadores e tomadores de decisão acessarem as evidências de pesquisa disponíveis sobre a efetividade das intervenções intergeracionais.
O mapa demonstra diversidade considerável nos tipos de atividade intergeracional. Também mostra que são principalmente os projetos de demonstração que são avaliados.
A qualidade das avaliações tornam as análises da sua efetividade, e consequentemente seu impacto em formatar a prática e as políticas, limitada.
Métodos de apoio a avaliações úteis desse tipos de intervenções que mensurem resultados significativos são necessários. O MLE identifica muitas áreas que ainda constituem lacunas na pesquisa.
O quão atualizado é o MLE?
Os autores pesquisaram por estudos publicados até julho de 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Devi Leena Bose, Anhad Hundal, Sabina Singh, Shweta Singh, Kuhika Seth, Saif ul Hadi, Ashrita Saran, Jessy Joseph, Kriti Goyal, Solomon Salve
- Published date 2023-01-10
- Coordinating group(s) Social Welfare
- Type of document Plain language summary Evidence and gap map
- Title Social and behaviour change communication interventions for strengthening HIV prevention and research among adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1297
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
There is scattered evidence on the effectiveness of social and behaviour change communication interventions for HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women
Interest in socio-behavioural interventions to support demand and uptake of HIV services is on the rise. Therefore, the evidence of their effectiveness needs to be systematically mapped to enable informed decision-making by sponsors, researchers, policymakers and public health experts.
This evidence and gap map (EGM) presents a consolidated evidence base of existing social and behaviour change communication interventions, and the end-user behaviours they target, in low- and middle-income countries. It looks at a range of strategies including mass media, community-based interventions, interpersonal interventions, and ICT and digital media-based interventions, and identifies gaps in programming.
The interactive evidence and gap map (EGM) is available here.
What is this EGM about?
Adolescent girls and young women around the world face challenges to achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights, including vulnerability to HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases. Evidence-informed interventions for HIV prevention, care and uptake of services targeting girls and women are critical in addressing these challenges.
What is the aim of this evidence and gap map (EGM)?
This EGM identifies, maps and presents all available evidence from systematic reviews and impact evaluations of interventions to strengthen the adoption of HIV prevention measures and participation in research among adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries.
What studies are included?
The EGM includes 458 studies – 43 systematic reviews and 415 impact evaluations – published in English since 2000.
The evidence is unevenly distributed across intervention and outcome categories. The most common interventions are on interpersonal communication, followed by community-based interventions. Most of these interventions were delivered by healthcare providers and educators.
In terms of geography, most of the identified research concentrates on Sub-Saharan Africa.
What are the main findings of this EGM?
The included studies mainly focus on enhancing knowledge-related capabilities to create behavioural and health impacts. There is a need for more studies to focus on interventions that help achieve envisioned behavioural and health outcomes.
Few studies explore the effectiveness of these interventions across diverse groups – such as pregnant women and new mothers, sex workers and people living with HIV. This scarcity of research leads to a limited understanding of the use of these interventions across critical sub-populations and multiple user segments.
Given the value of communication channels in shaping behaviour change discourse, this EGM looks at evidence across different communication strategies and platforms. However, we found little evidence on the use of digital media tools such as social media and mobile-based services.
There are also relatively few studies on the use of popular culture tools – including mass-media, theatre and other arts-based approaches.
What do the findings of this EGM mean?
The EGM underscores the need for better quality evidence to understand what interventions work, for whom, and towards what outcome.
How up-to-date is this EGM?
The authors searched for studies published up to April 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Áine Aventin, Martin Robinson, Jennifer Hanratty, Ciara Keenan, Jayne Hamilton, Eimear Ruane McAteer, Mark Tomlinson, Mike Clarke, Friday Okonofua, Chris Bonell, Maria Lohan
- Published date 2023-01-13
- Coordinating group(s) International Development
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Involving men and boys in family planning: A systematic review of the effective components and characteristics of complex interventions in low- and middle-income countries
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1296
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Involving men and boys in family planning is effective in increasing contraceptive use
Most family planning interventions involving men and/or boys are effective at increasing contraceptive use. Effective types of interventions include community-based educational programmes targeting males as well as females of all ages, and programmes delivered by professionals, trained facilitators or peers.
Engaging men and boys in enhancing gender equality for women and girls as part of family planning programming was highlighted as key, but this remains an under-used strategy.
What is this review about?
This systematic review of intervention evaluation studies is about how to enhance future programming with men and boys to meet needs for family planning for women and men in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Addressing unmet needs for family planning is a major challenge in LMICs. Addressing male involvement in family planning is also a challenge, as it is in these countries where men’s control over family planning decisionmaking for women and girls is known to be greatest. It is important to involve men and boys in ways that support women’s and girls’ choices, as well as men’s own family planning needs.
We used a novel method called causal chain analysis to focus on the content of interventions that may work better than others. This involved developing a picture of important programming components with stakeholders and testing how these components affect the impact of different interventions on family planning outcomes.
What is the aim of this systematic review?
This review assesses the strength of evidence of involving men and boys as users and supporters of family planning. The review also aims to uncover the effective components and critical process- and system-level characteristics of successful interventions.
What studies are included?
We included 127 papers which examined the effectiveness of interventions that included men and/or boys in LMICs as programme participants using experimental or quasi-experimental methods.
We also included 23 qualitative studies and process evaluations which reported why and how some programmes might have been effective.
The studies were conducted worldwide in LMICs, over half in Africa. A third of the studies were conducted on programmes that made a special effort to engage males. Less than a quarter of the studies addressed gender inequality as part of the programme.
What are the main findings of this review?
When considered together, the interventions included in this review were effective in increasing contraceptive use. The most effective interventions are community-based educational programmes offered in schools, communities and homes or community facilities, and interventions involving multiple components, delivered by professionals, trained facilitators or peers to both males and females for over seven months. Brief programmes of less than three months are also effective.
Added to this, related implementation studies identified the importance of promoting gender-equitable attitudes and social norms for women and girls among men and women at the individual, wider family, community, health service and societal level as part of family planning programming.
Some studies also emphasised structural factors such as the importance of widening women’s access to education and labour markets.
What do the findings of this review mean?
A wide range of family planning interventions which involve men and boys in LMICs have shown efficacy in increasing contraceptive use.
The success of family planning programmes that involve men and boys is most often measured by contraceptive use to the relative neglect of other outcomes, such as met need for family planning, equitable family planning decisionmaking, or gender equality. Our analysis indicates some promising intervention characteristics, which are more effective in promoting contraceptive use than other characteristics.
Our qualitative analysis also highlights the under-used strategy of addressing gender equality attitudes and norms, from the individual to the structural level.
The findings of this review will be of interest to programme designers wanting to increase male engagement in family planning in gender-equitable ways. The review can also help in measuring programme efficacy beyond contraceptive use, to also include gender equality and met family planning needs.
How up-to-date is this Campbell review?
The review authors searched for experimental evaluations in August 2020 and ‘connected’ process evaluations and qualitative studies in June 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Kevin Petersen, David Weisburd, Sydney Fay, Elizabeth Eggins, Lorraine Mazerolle
- Published date 2023-01-10
- Coordinating group(s) Crime and Justice
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta-analysis
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1302
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Police stops are associated with reductions in crime but also a broad range of negative individual-level outcomes
Police stop interventions produce meaningful and significant reductions in crime without evidence of spatial displacement. However, people subject to stops are associated with significantly less desirable mental and physical health outcomes, attitudes toward police, and self-reported crime/delinquency. For some outcome measures, the negative effects of pedestrian stops are considerably more pronounced for youth, though the data did not permit a comparison of individual effects by race.
What is this review about?
Police stops have become one of the most controversial yet widely-used crime prevention strategies in modern policing. This intervention involves the police-initiated stop of an individual (or group of individuals) on the street, for the purpose of investigation and/or questioning. Police stops have been commonly used as a tactic to combat violent and gun-related crime.
The current review assesses the effect of police stops (used interchangeably here with “pedestrian stops”) on both place-based and person-based outcomes, including crime, spatial displacement, mental health, physical health, attitudes toward the police, and self-reported crime/delinquency.
What is the aim of this review?
This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of police-initiated pedestrian stops on both place-based and person-based outcomes. It synthesizes results from 40 studies across six outcome groupings. Studies were predominately conducted in the USA.
What studies are included?
Forty studies published between 1970-2021 are included in this review. Eligibility was limited to experimental and quasi-experimental studies with a treatment group of people or places that experienced police stops and a control group of people or places that did not experience police stops (or experienced a lower dosage of stops).
Studies focusing only on police-initiated traffic stops were excluded from this review. Only one eligible study was a randomized controlled trial, 33 studies were conducted in the USA, and seven were conducted in Europe.
What are the main findings of this review?
Police stop interventions lead to significant reductions in area-level crime with evidence of a diffusion of crime control benefits to nearby areas. However, methodological difficulties limit the strength of the causal inferences derived from these studies; further research is needed.
Individuals stopped by police are associated with significantly higher odds of both mental and physical health issues, significantly more negative attitudes toward the police, and elevated levels of self-reported crime/delinquency. The impact of a direct stop experience on mental health issues is also considerably larger for youth, compared to adults.
Despite this finding, place-based studies incorporating community surveys suggest that stop interventions do not impact community-level attitudes toward the police, and thus the negative effects of these interventions may be limited to the individuals directly experiencing them.
The findings of this review should be interpreted with caution, however, as only one randomized experiment assessing crime prevention outcomes was identified, and person-based studies were often unable to establish temporal ordering between the treatment and outcome measures.
What do the findings of the review mean?
Policing efforts focused on high-volume pedestrian stops are likely to reduce crime but may do so at the cost of negative health outcomes, negative attitudes toward the police, and higher levels of delinquency for individuals subject to the intervention. Given the net-widening effects of pedestrian stops (i.e., low proportions of stops lead to arrests or weapon seizures), these interventions may produce more harm than good. Police agencies should carefully weigh the potential benefits and harms associated with these interventions.
Furthermore, recent reviews on tactics such as hot spots policing and problem-oriented policing have demonstrated larger reductions in crime without similar backfire effects. The evidence-base for these tactics is also of considerably higher methodological rigor, generating stronger conclusions regarding program effectiveness. While it is possible that police agencies can mitigate the negative effects of pedestrian stops through a focus on improving officer conduct during police-citizen encounters, this review is unable to provide evidence of this effect.
How up-to-date is this review?
The authors of this review employed search strategies intended to capture studies through December 2021.
Additional Info
- Authors Nina T. Dalgaard, Anja Bondebjerg, Bjørn C. A. Viinholt, Trine Filges
- Published date 2022-12-07
- Coordinating group(s) Education
- Type of document Review Plain language summary
- Title The effects of inclusion on academic achievement, socioemotional development and wellbeing of children with special educational needs
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- See the full review https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1291
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English
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
One size does not fit all – inconsistent effects of inclusion on learning and psychosocial adjustment of children with special needs
The effects of placing children with special needs in grades K-12 into inclusive educational settings are inconsistent. Findings from this review suggest that, in general, inclusion neither increases nor decreases learning and psychosocial adjustment of children with special needs in the OECD countries.
What is this review about?
This review and meta-analysis summarises evidence from studies exploring the effects of inclusion on children with special needs in regular educational settings, compared with segregated educational settings.
The review summarises evidence from 15 non-randomised studies in three meta-analyses on language and literacy outcomes, math outcomes and overall psychosocial adjustment of children.
What is the aim of this review?
This review aims to explore the effects of placing children with special needs in inclusive educational settings, compared with segregated placement on measures of academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment. A secondary aim is to explore how different child or setting characteristics (gender, age, type and severity of special need, part- or full-time inclusive education, and co-teaching) might moderate outcomes.
What studies are included?
This review includes studies that evaluate the effects of placing children with special educational needs in mainstream educational settings (inclusion). A total of 94 studies were identified. However, only 15 of these were assessed to be of sufficient methodological quality to be included in the meta-analyses and only between six and eight studies could be synthesized in each of the meta-analyses.
Four studies were from the USA, three from the UK, two from the Netherlands, and one each from Switzerland, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Denmark.
The studies included children with multiple types of disabilities such as learning disorders/intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, physical handicaps, visual impairments, and Down syndrome.
The studies all had important methodological weaknesses. None of the included studies used experimental designs with random assignment.
What are the main findings of this review?
Results of the meta-analyses do not suggest any consistent positive or negative effects of inclusion on children’s academic achievement as measured by language, literacy and math outcomes, or on the overall psychosocial adjustment of children. The studies in the analysis demonstrated a wide range of both large positive and large negative effect sizes; and although the average effect sizes did favour inclusion, they were small and none were statistically significant.
How has this intervention worked?
Supporters of mainstreaming or inclusion claim that segregated educational placement causes stigmatisation and social isolation, which may have detrimental effects on the self-concept, social identity, and self-confidence of students with special educational needs.
On the other hand, opponents suggest that placement in general education classrooms may have adverse effects for children with special needs, especially if the time and resources allocated for individualisation and differentiation are not aligned with student needs.
In line with these opposing positions, the findings from this review suggest that while some children with special needs may benefit from inclusive educational placement, other children may benefit from traditional special education in a segregated setting. Unfortunately, it was not possible to explore the effects of different kinds of inclusive education for different kinds of children with special needs.
What do the findings of the review mean?
The overall effects of inclusion on the academic achievement and overall psychosocial adjustment of students with special needs are inconsistent. Our findings are very similar to the results of previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which include studies published before 2000. It is very unlikely that inclusion in general increases or decreases learning and psychosocial adjustment in children with special needs.
These findings point to the need for an individual assessment of the specific child’s educational and psychosocial needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to placement in special education.
Research should explore the effects of different kinds of inclusive education for different kinds of children with special needs, to expand the knowledge base on what works for whom.
How up-to-date is this review?
The review authors searched for studies up to 30 September 2021.