Non-pharmacological strategies for self-directed and interpersonal violence in people with severe mental illness: a rapid overview of systematic reviews

Introduction Self-directed and interpersonal violence among people with severe mental illness has become a health priority. Though non-pharmacological interventions have been investigated, to our knowledge, no summary of all systematic reviews on this topic has been reported. We will conduct a rapid overview of reviews to synthesise evidence available by identifying systematic reviews on non-pharmacological interventions for self-directed or interpersonal violence in people with severe mental illness. Methods and analysis This is a protocol for a rapid overview of reviews. The overview will include any systematic reviews (with or without meta-analyses) of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or cluster RCTs that examine the effect of non-pharmacological interventions on self-directed or interpersonal violence in people with severe mental illness. This protocol applies the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Protocols, the criteria for conducting overviews of reviews in the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the criteria for the Cochrane Rapid Reviews. To identify studies, a search will be performed in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS, SciELO, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews through the Cochrane Library and the Epistemonikos database of systematic reviews. The searches date from inception to September 2020. The study selection process will be described using a PRISMA flow diagram, we will assess the quality of evidence in systematic reviews included and the quality of the systematic reviews themselves and the main results will be summarised in categories to provide a map of the evidence available. Ethics and dissemination No patients or other participants will be involved in this study. The results will be presented at mental health conferences and for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Automated summary

Self-directed and interpersonal violence among people with severe mental illness is a health priority, and this study aims to conduct a rapid overview of reviews on non-pharmacological interventions in this population. The protocol will identify and synthesize evidence from systematic reviews on the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on violence, with the results to be presented at mental health conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.