ERIC Number: EJ1465539
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: EISSN-1461-7005
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Quality-of-Life Measurement in Randomised Controlled Trials of Mental Health Interventions for Autistic Adults: A Systematic Review
Amanda Timmerman1; Vasiliki Totsika1,2,3,4; Valerie Lye1; Laura Crane1,5; Audrey Linden1,6; Elizabeth Pellicano1
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v29 n3 p579-595 2025
Autistic people are more likely to have co-occurring mental health conditions compared to the general population, and mental health interventions have been identified as a top research priority by autistic people and the wider autism community. Autistic adults have also communicated that quality of life is the outcome that matters most to them in relation to mental health research and that they want to be involved more actively in the research process. Our systematic review aimed to determine the extent and nature of (1) quality of life measurement in randomised controlled trials of mental health interventions for autistic adults and (2) community involvement taking place within identified randomised controlled trials. We searched Medline, Embase, APA PsycInfo, Web of Science and grey literature sources. After screening over 10,000 records, 19 studies were eligible and five of those studies measured quality of life as an outcome. Of those five, three included community involvement and two did not report on community involvement. We conclude there is a need for increased use of quality of life measurement when trialling mental health interventions, including the use of measures validated for autistic adults -- which would be facilitated by greater autistic involvement in the research process.
Descriptors: Adults, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Quality of Life, Randomized Controlled Trials, Mental Health, Community Involvement, Participatory Research, Health Services, Error of Measurement, Evaluation Methods, Test Reliability
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University College London, UK; 2University of Warwick, UK; 3The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, UK; 4Millennium Institute for Care Research (MICARE), Chile; 5University of Birmingham, UK; 6The Open University, UK