Group arts therapies for patients with schizophrenia: a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Schizophrenia, a chronic mental problem, significantly impacts cognition, emotion and social functioning. Conventional pharmacotherapy faces challenges including numerous side effects, low adherence to medication and substantial costs. In this context, group arts therapies (GATs) emerge as a promising complementary approach for symptom alleviation in schizophrenia patients. Nonetheless, the effectiveness and safety of GATs are yet to be firmly established. This study aims to systematically assess the therapeutic impact of all group-based artistic interventions as complementary treatments for schizophrenia, focusing on their potential benefits.

Methods And Analysis: This study will search four English-language databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase), two Chinese databases (Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and three Korean databases (RISS, Korean Citation Index and DBpia) from their inception until October 2023. It will include all randomised controlled trials that compare GATs for schizophrenia with standard rehabilitation methods. The primary outcome is the improvement in patients' positive and negative symptoms. Methodologies such as bias risk assessment, data synthesis, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis will be implemented using Review Manager V.5.4. Study results with high heterogeneity will be merged using a random-effects model ( >50% or p<0.1). In cases where meta-analysis is not viable due to significant clinical and methodological heterogeneity, a qualitative summary of the findings will be provided.

Ethics And Dissemination: The data used in this systematic review are anonymised, devoid of any private information, eliminating the requirement for ethical approval. Dissemination of the research findings will be conducted via peer-reviewed publications.

Prospero Registration Number: CRD42023471583.