International differences in understanding recovery: systematic review
Volume
21
Pagination
353 - 364
Publisher
DOI
10.1017/s2045796012000133
Journal
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
Issue
ISSN
2045-7960
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
<jats:sec><jats:title>Aims.</jats:title><jats:p>Mental health policy internationally varies in its support for recovery. The aims of this study were to validate an existing conceptual framework and then characterise by country the distribution, scientific foundations and emphasis in published recovery conceptualisations.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods.</jats:title><jats:p>Update and modification of a previously published systematic review and narrative synthesis of recovery conceptualisations published in English.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results.</jats:title><jats:p>A total of 7431 studies were identified and 429 full papers reviewed, from which 105 conceptualisations in 115 papers were included and quality assessed using established rating scales. Recovery conceptualisations were identified from 11 individual countries, with 95 (91%) published in English-speaking countries, primarily the USA (47%) and the UK (25%). The scientific foundation was primarily qualitative research (53%), non-systematic literature reviews (24%) and position papers (12%). The conceptual framework was validated with the 18 new papers. Across the different countries, there was a relatively similar distribution of codings for each of five key recovery processes.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions.</jats:title><jats:p>Recovery as currently conceptualised in English-language publications is primarily based on qualitative studies and position papers from English-speaking countries. The conceptual framework was valid, but the development of recovery conceptualisations using a broader range of research designs within other cultures and non-majority populations is a research priority.</jats:p></jats:sec>