Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy in patients who had a stroke: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a common chronic disease with high rates of morbidity and disability and a great burden on patients. As a result, it affects daily activities of patients and causes negative emotions, which seriously affect their quality of life. As a new type of cognitive–behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) may be useful to improve the mental health of patients who had a stroke. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the intervention effect of ACT in patients who had a stroke, which may provide further clinical evidence. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic search of databases, including CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and APA PsycArticles, will be conducted from their inception to 31 October 2022. All randomised controlled trials, quasi-experiments and case studies relevant to ACT will be included in English and Chinese. Two independent reviewers will conduct the review, with data extraction and quality evaluation. Review Manager V.5.4 will be used to assess the risk of bias and meta-analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review does not require formal ethical approval, because all data will be analysed anonymously. The results will provide an overall review and evidence of the efficacy of ACT in patients who had a stroke. These findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022355629.