Dataset Information

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the benefits of school-based, peer-led interventions for leaders.

ABSTRACT: The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to quantitatively synthesise the effects of school-based peer-led interventions on leaders' academic, psychosocial, behavioural, and physical outcomes. Eligible studies were those that: (i) evaluated a school-based peer-led intervention using an experimental or quasi-experimental study design, (ii) included an age-matched control or comparison group, and (iii) evaluated the impact of the intervention on one or more leader outcomes. Medline, Sportdiscus, Psychinfo, Embase, and Scopus online databases were searched on the 24th of October, 2022 which yielded 13,572 results, with 31 included in the narrative synthesis and 12 in the meta-analysis. We found large positive effects for leaders' attitudes toward bullying (d = 1.02), small-to-medium positive effects for leaders' literacy (d = 0.39), and small positive effects for leaders' self-esteem (d = 0.18). There were mixed findings for behavioural outcomes and null effects for physical outcomes. Notable limitations of this research are the inclusion of a relatively small number of studies, and high heterogeneity in those included. Our findings have the potential to inform educational practice, but also highlight the need for further research examining the mechanisms that might account for the observed effects. Our systematic review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021273129).

SUBMITTER: Wade L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9732042 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the benefits of school-based, peer-led interventions for leaders.

Wade Levi L Leahy Angus A AA Babic Mark J MJ Beauchamp Mark R MR Smith Jordan J JJ Kennedy Sarah G SG Boyer James J Nathan Nicole N Robinson Katie K Lubans David R DR

Scientific reports 20221208 1

The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to quantitatively synthesise the effects of school-based peer-led interventions on leaders' academic, psychosocial, behavioural, and physical outcomes. Eligible studies were those that: (i) evaluated a school-based peer-led intervention using an experimental or quasi-experimental study design, (ii) included an age-matched control or comparison group, and (iii) evaluated the impact of the intervention on one or more leader outcomes. Medline, ...[more]

PMID: 36481781

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionPeer education, whereby peers ('peer educators') teach their other peers ('peer learners') about aspects of health is an approach growing in popularity across school contexts, possibly due to adolescents preferring to seek help for health-related concerns from their peers rather than adults or professionals. Peer education interventions cover a wide range of health areas but their overall effectiveness remains unclear. This review aims to summarise the effectiveness of existing peer-led health interventions implemented in schools worldwide.MethodsFive electronic databases were searched for eligible studies in October 2020. To be included, studies must have evaluated a school-based peer education intervention designed to address the health of students aged 11-18-years-old and include quantitative outcome data to examine effectiveness. The number of interventions were summarised and the impact on improved health knowledge and reductions in health problems or risk-taking behaviours were investigated for each health area separately, the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess quality.ResultsA total of 2125 studies were identified after the initial search and 73 articles were included in the review. The majority of papers evaluated interventions focused on sex education/HIV prevention (n = 23), promoting healthy lifestyles (n = 17) and alcohol, smoking and substance use (n = 16). Papers mainly reported peer learner outcomes (67/73, 91.8%), with only six papers (8.2%) focussing solely on peer educator outcomes and five papers (6.8%) examining both peer learner and peer educator outcomes. Of the 67 papers reporting peer learner outcomes, 35/67 (52.2%) showed evidence of effectiveness, 8/67 (11.9%) showed mixed findings and 24/67 (35.8%) found limited or no evidence of effectiveness. Of the 11 papers reporting peer educator outcomes, 4/11 (36.4%) showed evidence of effectiveness, 2/11 (18.2%) showed mixed findings and 5/11 (45.5%) showed limited or no evidence of effectiveness. Study quality varied greatly with many studies rated as poor quality, mainly due to unrepresentative samples and incomplete data.DiscussionSchool-based peer education interventions are implemented worldwide and span a wide range of health areas. A number of interventions appear to demonstrate evidence for effectiveness, suggesting peer education may be a promising strategy for health improvement in schools. Improvement in health-related knowledge was most common with less evidence for positive health behaviour change. In order to quantitatively synthesise the evidence and make more confident conclusions, there is a need for more robust, high-quality evaluations of peer-led interventions using standardised health knowledge and behaviour measures.

Project description:BackgroundRecent estimates suggest that one in ten young people worldwide experiences a diagnosable mental health disorder, with many more suffering subsyndromal levels of psychological distress. As young people spend much of their time in schools, the role of educational settings in the delivery of mental health provision is increasingly recognised. Advances in neurodevelopmental research have highlighted the important and complex role of peer influence on adolescent behaviours, suggesting peer-led support schemes have high potential utility. Schools worldwide have implemented peer-led interventions with mixed results, but the global evidence base on their effectiveness remains limited. This systematic review aims to examine the evidence base of the outcomes of school-based peer-led interventions on the mental health of young people aged 4-18.MethodsEligible studies will be randomised controlled trials and observational studies that report on the mental health outcomes of a peer-led school-based intervention. Eligible participants will be aged 4-18 and will be current students of the intervention school. Individual- and group-based interventions will be included. The following 11 databases will be screened based upon their reach in healthcare and education: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, BEI, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, SSCI and Social Care Online. There will be no restriction placed on publication period, original language or country of publication. Papers will be systematically screened for eligibility by two review authors. Data will be presented as a descriptive report. A meta-analysis will be carried out if a subset of studies allows, given the anticipated high levels of heterogeneity.DiscussionThis systematic review will be the first to synthesise the global evidence on the mental health outcomes of peer-led interventions for children and adolescents in a school setting. It will analyse the available data in order to understand the role of these interventions in schools, inform future developers of peer support programmes and identify gaps in current research. This review will be of value to policy makers, health and education services, researchers and those involved in delivering peer support initiatives.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018116243.

Project description:ObjectivePeer-to-peer interactions and support groups mitigate experiences of social isolation and loneliness often reported by individuals with psychotic disorders. Online peer-to-peer communication can promote broader use of this form of social support. Peer-to-peer interactions occur naturally on social media platforms, but they can negatively affect mental health. Recent digital interventions for persons with psychotic disorders have harnessed the principles of social media to incorporate peer-to-peer communication. This review examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of recent digital interventions in order to identify strategies to maximize benefits of online peer-to-peer communication for persons with psychotic disorders.MethodsAn electronic database search of PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Health Technology Assessment Database was conducted in February 2017 and yielded a total of 1,015 results. Eight publications that reported data from six independent trials and five interventions were reviewed.ResultsThe technology supporting peer-to-peer communication varied greatly across studies, from online forums to embedded social networking. When peer-to-peer interactions were moderated by facilitators, retention, engagement, acceptability, and efficacy were higher than for interventions with no facilitators. Individuals with psychotic disorders were actively engaged with moderated peer-to-peer communication and showed improvements in perceived social support. Studies involving service users in intervention design showed higher rates of acceptability.ConclusionsIndividuals with psychotic disorders value and benefit from digital interventions that include moderated peer-to-peer interactions. Incorporating peer-to-peer communication into digital interventions for this population may increase compliance with other evidence-based therapies by producing more acceptable and engaging online environments.

Project description:BackgroundSchool health systems are increasingly investing in telemedicine platforms to address acute and chronic illnesses. Asthma, the most common chronic illness in childhood, is of particular interest given its high burden on school absenteeism.ObjectiveConduct a systematic review evaluating impact of school-based telemedicine programs on improving asthma-related outcomes.Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar.Study eligibility criteriaOriginal research, including quasi-experimental studies, without restriction on the type of telemedicine.ParticipantsSchool-aged pediatric patients with asthma and their families.InterventionsSchool-based telemedicine.Study appraisal and synthesis methodsTwo authors independently screened each abstract, conducted full-text review, assessed study quality, and extracted information. A third author resolved disagreements.ResultsOf 371 articles identified, 7 were included for the review. Outcomes of interest were asthma symptom-free days, asthma symptom frequency, quality of life, health care utilization, school absences, and spirometry. Four of 7 studies reported significant increases in symptom-free days and/or decrease in symptom frequency. Five of 6 reported increases in at least one quality-of-life metric, 2 of 7 reported a decrease in at least 1 health care utilization metric, 1 of 3 showed reductions in school absences, and 1 of 2 reported improvements in spirometry measures.LimitationsVariability in intervention designs and outcome measures make comparisons and quantitative analyses across studies difficult. Only 2 of 7 studies were randomized controlled trials.Conclusions and implications of key findingsHigh-quality evidence supporting the use of school-based telemedicine programs to improve patient outcomes is limited. While available evidence suggests benefit, only 2 comparative trials were identified, and the contribution of telemedicine to these studies' results is unclear.

Project description:BackgroundIncorporating social media features into digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs) has the potential to contribute positively to their success. However, the lack of clear design principles to describe and guide the use of these features in behavioral interventions limits cross-study comparisons of their uses and effects.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to provide a systematic review of DBCIs targeting modifiable behavioral risk factors that have included social media features as part of their intervention infrastructure. A taxonomy of social media features is presented to inform the development, description, and evaluation of behavioral interventions.MethodsSearch terms were used in 8 databases to identify DBCIs that incorporated social media features and targeted tobacco smoking, diet and nutrition, physical activities, or alcohol consumption. The screening and review process was performed by 2 independent researchers.ResultsA total of 5264 articles were screened, and 143 articles describing a total of 134 studies were retained for full review. The majority of studies (70%) reported positive outcomes, followed by 28% finding no effects with regard to their respective objectives and hypothesis, and 2% of the studies found that their interventions had negative outcomes. Few studies reported on the association between the inclusion of social media features and intervention effect. A taxonomy of social media features used in behavioral interventions has been presented with 36 social media features organized under 7 high-level categories. The taxonomy has been used to guide the analysis of this review.ConclusionsAlthough social media features are commonly included in DBCIs, there is an acute lack of information with respect to their effect on outcomes and a lack of clear guidance to inform the selection process based on the features' suitability for the different behaviors. The proposed taxonomy along with the set of recommendations included in this review will support future research aimed at isolating and reporting the effects of social media features on DBCIs, cross-study comparisons, and evaluations.

Dataset Information

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the benefits of school-based, peer-led interventions for leaders.

Publications

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the benefits of school-based, peer-led interventions for leaders.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets