Table 2.
Effects of single covariates for meta-regression of all trials of psychological or psychosocial intervention versus comparator
| k | Risk ratio (95% CI) | p Value | Adjusted R2%* | I2% (Res) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any psychological or psychosocial therapy combined (overall effect) | 36 | 0.84(0.74 to 0.96) | – | – | 30 |
| Explanatory variable | |||||
| Type of intervention and components | |||||
| Continuous | |||||
| Intensity of intervention (min) | 36 | – | 0.10 | 18 | 26 |
| Binary | |||||
| Type of intervention | 0 | 28 | |||
| Problem-focused (reference) | 8 | 0.96 (0.80 to 1.16) | – | ||
| CBT | 5 | 0.77 (0.64 to 0.93) | 0.245 | ||
| Complex intervention with outreach | 13 | 0.90 (0.73 to 1.11) | 0.948 | ||
| Other-psychological | 4 | 0.91 (0.39 to 2.11) | 0.866 | ||
| Other-psychosocial | 5 | 0.86 (0.58 to 1.27) | 0.749 | ||
| Psychodynamic | 1 | 0.31 (0.12 to 0.78) | 0.056 | ||
| Continuity of care† | |||||
| Same therapist (but as per standard) (reference) | 20 | 0.89 (0.26 to 1.05) | – | 0 | 33 |
| No continuity of clinicians or therapists | 7 | 0.77 (0.55 to 1.07) | 0.482 | ||
| Continuity (especially between acute and outpatient services) | 6 | 0.83 (0.55 to 1.25) | 0.894 | ||
| Flexibility of the site of delivery | 0 | 25 | |||
| Clinic only (reference) | 24 | 0.89 (0.78 to 1.02) | – | ||
| Home | 12 | 0.73 (0.54 to 0.98) | 0.352 | ||
| Between-session contact‡ | 0 | 31 | |||
| Standard practice only (reference) | 21 | 0.83 (0.72 to 0.95) | – | ||
| Additional contact included | 14 | 0.87 (0.69 to 1.10) | 0.449 | ||
| Enhancement of motivation/compliance | 8 | 28 | |||
| Standard practice only (reference) | 25 | 0.79 (0.68 to 0.92) | – | ||
| Motivation enhancement included | 11 | 0.95 (0.77 to 1.18) | 0.112 | ||
| Crisis care | 0 | 31 | |||
| Standard practice only (reference) | 29 | 0.80 (0.69 to 0.93) | – | ||
| Participants had open access to immediate crisis care | 7 | 1.02 (0.79 to 1.32) | 0.224 | ||
| Treatment setting | 0 | 34 | |||
| Outpatient care only (reference) | 31 | 0.82 (0.70 to 0.95) | – | ||
| Included inpatient care | 4 | 1.02 (0.67 to 1.55) | 0.913 | ||
| Included day patient care | 1 | 0.85 (0.68 to 106) | 0.610 | ||
| Aspects of methodology | |||||
| Continuous | |||||
| Sample size | 36 | – | 0.046 | 31 | 23 |
| Binary | |||||
| Type of comparison group | 0 | 33 | |||
| Alternative controlled treatment (reference group) | 5 | 1.01 (0.53 to 1.94) | – | ||
| TAU | 25 | 0.81 (0.68 to 0.96) | 0.453 | ||
| TAU+ | 6 | 0.85 (0.73 to 0.99) | 0.508 | ||
| Population type | 7 | 28 | |||
| Included on the basis of self harm (reference group) | 11 | 0.96 (0.85 to 1.08) | – | ||
| Included on the basis of SA | 19 | 0.77 (0.60 to 0.98) | 0.221 | ||
| Included on the basis of self-poisoning | 6 | 0.70 (0.46 to 1.05) | 0.225 | ||
*Adjusted R2 is the percentage of between-trial variance explained by the included covariates.
†Three trials did not provide enough information about continuity of care and so were not included in the analysis.
‡One trial did not provide enough information about between-session contact and so was not included in the analysis.
CBT, cognitive–behavioural therapy; k, number of comparisons; SA, suicide attempt; TAU, treatment as usual; TAU+, enhanced TAU.