Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy on mood and quality of life for patients with COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: There is no study that has conducted a review or meta-analysis investigating a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention to patients with COVID19, with the aim of improving their psychological health. Therefore, in order to provide new evidence-based medical evidence for clinical treatment, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of CBT in relieving patients’ psychological distress and improving quality of life during the COVID-19 epidemic. METHODS: Seven electronic databases including Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, Wanfang Data, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane Library will be searched in April 2021 by 2 independent reviewers. For search on PubMed, the following search terms will be used: “COVID-19, 2019 Coronavirus Disease, 2019-nCoV, cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, cognitive behavioral treatment.” In order to achieve a consistency (at least 80%) of extracted items, the data extractors will extract data from a sample of eligible studies. The outcomes include any rating scale describing stress, mood, and quality of life. Review Manager software (v 5.4; Cochrane Collaboration) will be used for the meta-analysis. Two independent reviewers will assess the risk of bias of the included studies at study level. Any disagreements will be discussed and resolved in discussion with a third reviewer. RESULTS: The results of our review will be reported strictly following the PRISMA criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The review will add to the existing literature by showing compelling evidence and improved guidance in clinic settings. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DCRPJ. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval and patient consent are not required because this study is a literature-based study. This systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.