Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Self-Help for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety in People with Long-Term Physical Health Conditions : a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

• BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are prevalent comorbidities in people with long-term physical health conditions; however, there is limited access to evidence-based treatments for comorbid mental health difficulties.PURPOSE: This study is a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural self-help for physical symptoms, depression and anxiety in people with long-term conditions.METHODS: This study involves a systematic search of electronic databases supplemented by expert contact, reference and citation checking and grey literature.RESULTS: The meta-analysis yielded a small effect size for 11 studies reporting primary outcomes of depression (g = -0.20) and 8 studies anxiety (g = -0.21) with a large effect size (g = -1.14) for 1 study examining physical health symptoms. There were no significant moderators of the main effect.CONCLUSIONS: Limited evidence supports cognitive behavioural self-help for depression, anxiety and physical symptoms in people with long-term conditions. Small effect sizes for depression and anxiety may result from failure to recruit participants with clinical levels of these difficulties at baseline.

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