Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies comparing activity scheduling with either a control group or another active psychological or pharmacological treatment were eligible for inclusion. Activity scheduling was defined as the registration of pleasant activities and the increase of positive interactions between a person and their environment, including social-skills training. Eligible studies could be based on the intervention developed by Lewinsohn et al. (see Other Publications of Related Interest no.1), or just use the principles of this intervention.
The majority of included studies applied the intervention in an individual format versus a group format, with the number of sessions varying from 4 to 20 (where reported). Most compared the intervention with another treatment, most commonly cognitive therapy. Other studies compared the intervention with a waiting-list control or other psychological interventions, and one compared activity scheduling with antidepressant therapy.
Participants included in the review
Studies of adults with a depressive disorder or elevated depressive symptoms were eligible for inclusion. The majority of included studies were in community populations based in the USA; most were of younger adults, selected because they scored high on a self-rating depression scale or used an alternative definition of depression. Five studies included patients who met the diagnostic criteria for major depression; one focused on patients with dementia and another on psychiatric in-patients.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Eligible studies had to report depression data. Only data from explicit measures of depression were included in the calculation of effect sizes. The majority of studies used the Beck Depression Inventory as an outcome measure.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.