Table 3.
Strength of Evidence for Trials Comparing Interventions with Family Component to Usual Care or Wait List Control*
| Outcome | Number of studies (n +) | Risk of bias‡ | Directness§ | Precision∥ | Consistency¶ | Evidence rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical functioning | 9 (1,266) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
| General psychological functioning | 10 (1,410) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
| Social functioning | 5 (749) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
| Global quality of life | 6 (1,367) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
| Depression/ anxiety |
9 (1,519) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
| Symptom control/ management | 11# (1,673) | Moderate | Direct | Imprecise | Consistent | Low |
*Adapted from expanded evidence report, Griffin et al.6
+Number randomized
‡Internal validity. Study design and the quality of individual studies included in the review. Study design limitations may bias the estimates of treatment effect (such as lack of allocation concealment, or lack of blinding)
§Interventions are directly related to health outcomes of interest
∥The degree of certainty surrounding an estimate of effect for each outcome of interest. Uncertainty of effect does not allow for a clinically useful conclusion, and is unable to rule out an important benefit or harm
¶The effect sizes from the included studies are similar and have the same direction of effect (positive or negative)
#Some studies had multiple symptom control measures