People presenting to hospital in a crisis of mental ill-health usually present via Emergency Departments, and are often admitted for brief interventions. Unlike drug treatments, the evidence base for brief non-pharmacological interventions has not been systematically evaluated.

1. To describe brief non-pharmacological interventions used in Emergency Departments and inpatient psychiatric units, for those in a crisis of mental ill-health, and evaluate the study types and outcome measures used to evaluate them;

2. To conduct a systematic review of this evidence

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, DARE, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and relevant government and non-government organisation websites for peer reviewed journal articles, including both qualitative and quantitative articles. Interventions were sorted into Categories and Types to manage heterogeneity.

We found 47 studies. Interventions were highly varied, and we created a taxonomy to understand this heterogeneity. Most studies were quasi-experimental trials (n=26; 55%) or qualitative studies (n=13; 27%) and only 8 RCTs (17%). Twelve were high quality (26%). Interventions were mostly found to have no effect on measured outcomes, though outcome measures may not have been best suited to expected domains of change.There was a broad range of outcome foci reflecting inconsistency in goals of interventions. No interventions were found to reduce the incidence of self-harm on the inpatient ward. One study suggests that inpatient safety planning may reduce readmission rates. Aggression-related outcomes for inpatient sensory modulation rooms were equivocal. Brief admissions with psychotherapy may reduce suicide attempt repetition and re-hospitalization, whereas brief admissions without psychotherapy may improve function but not re-hospitalization rates. Face-to-face psychoeducation for panic in the ED was associated with a reduction in ED presentation rates, but brochure-only psychoeducation may increase ED presentation rates.

This review found little evidence to guide much of what clinicians do for people in crisis in hospital. There is a need to develop a framework for brief non-pharmacological interventions, address the quality and size of studies, and identify consistent outcome measures for non-pharmacological interventions. The data is insufficient to make clear recommendations for appropriate brief non-pharmacological interventions for people in crisis in Emergency Departments and Psychiatric Inpatient Units. Multiple promising interventions are available for further study, however there is a dearth of research and more rigorous testing is needed.

None Declared