Effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for treating post-stroke depression Study protocol of an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Abstract

Background: Many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have evaluated the effectiveness of non-pharmacological therapies to improve symptoms of post-stroke depression (PSD) and reduce disability and mortality in patients with PSD. However, no research has appraised the credibility of the evidence. This study aims to summarize and evaluate the current evidence for nonpharmacological treatment of PSD and to seek effective treatment with reference to reliable evidence. Methods: We searched the electronic databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, PubMed, PROSPERO, Web of Science, and CINAHL. We will search articles from the above database for all published meta-analyses to December 2021 to evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological treatment of PSD. Two reviewers will extract the general characteristics of the included articles, as well as participants, interventions, outcome measures, and conclusions. The quality evaluation of each systematic review will be conducted with reference to the AMSTAR 2 tool. The effect size of each review will be recalculated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model. Cochrane’s Q test and I2 statistics will be used to evaluate the heterogeneity between studies. To determine whether a systematic review had small study effects, we will use the Egger test. We expect to extract valid evidence and classify it from strong to weak. Results: The findings of this umbrella review will provide effective evidence for the non-pharmacological treatment of PSD. Conclusion: Our research conclusion will provide clinical staff and PSD patients with appropriate treatment recommendations. Ethics and dissemination: As the data were obtained from published materials, there is no need for ethical approval for this umbrella review. The findings of this umbrella review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.