Meta-Analysis: The Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Quality of Life in Chronic Health Conditions.

Background and aims: The physical symptoms of chronic health conditions are well documented and understood, the long-term sequelae of chronic conditions are now also more established with a focus on improving quality of life (QoL). Established psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) have aimed to try to help individuals that are suffering with chronic conditions. A relatively new approach, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), claims to be transdiagnostic and therefore may be a suitable approach with this population. This thesis aims to explore the efficacy of ACT in improving QoL in chronic health conditions. Methodology: A systematic literature search and analysis was undertaken utilising a meta-analysis approach. Results: A comprehensive electronic and manual search yielded a total of 1081 potential articles. Following the implementation of the inclusion and exclusion criteria a total of 12 studies, including 788 participants, were included in the analysis. Data were extracted and studies were assessed for methodological quality. ACT led to greater improvements in QoL compared to control conditions and the effect size (ES) was small to moderate (Hedges g = .33). However, ACT was not significantly better than active control groups when separately analysed (g = .27, p = 0.23). Conclusions: The findings suggest that ACT does have a positive and significant effect on QoL for individuals with chronic health conditions compared to controls. Furthermore, these improvements in QoL are not diminished after follow-up. The results, theoretical/clinical implications, strengths and limitations and future directions of this thesis are explored in the Discussion.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of East Anglia

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Sthanakiya, Sunil

Language dc:language

en