Assistant Professor Melissa Edmondson Smith, PhD is the lead author of new research titled "A quick scoping review of psychosocial treatment recommendations for African Americans with schizophrenia spectrum disorders." Co-authored with 2014 MSW alumna Kelsey Hurlburt and others, the work appears in the recent issue of Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work.
ABSTRACT To determine the generalizability of the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) 2009 treatment recommendations to African Americans. Methods: We examined inclusion of African Americans with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in 58 studies across seven interventions. Results: Evidence varied by intervention. Representation of African Americans ranged from 0% to 83%. The strongest evidence was found for assertive community treatment, supported employment, substance use disorder interventions, skills training, and weight management interventions. Conclusions: Future research should recruit samples that are representative of African Americans. We offer practice recommendations as well as recommendations for social work research to advance generalization of findings to African Americans.
CITATION: Smith, M.E., Yamada, A.M., Barrio, C., Pahwa, R., Hurlburt, K. & Brekke. J. (2019). A quick scoping review of psychosocial treatment recommendations for African Americans with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. doi: 10.1080/15313204.2019.1640823