The role of reading on the health and well-being of people with neurological conditions: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: Little research has been conducted that investigates the benefits of reading for people with neurological conditions despite its age old use to improve well-being. The aim of this study was to identify and review the evidence of the effect of ‘lone’ reading, reading aloud and shared reading groups on the health and well-being of people with neurological conditions in clinical and long-term care settings.Methods: A literature search was conducted incorporating a systematic search of electronic databases, internet searching, ‘snowballing’ technique from references of relevant studies and consultation with clinicians and academics in the field.Results: Twelve studies (five quantitative, three qualitative and four mixed methods) met the criteria for inclusion in the review. No randomised controlled trials were identified. Significant heterogeneity in the results of the quantitative studies precluded statistical data synthesis. Thematic analysis and synthesis was applied to the three qualitative studies and the qualitative data of the mixed-method studies. All but one of the quantitative studies reported that the reading interventions had a positive effect. The evidence from the qualitative studies demonstrated multiple positive effects of shared reading groups.Conclusions: The effect of ‘lone’ reading, reading aloud and shared reading groups on the health and well-being of people with neurological conditions is currently an under-researched area. Although this review reports encouraging results of positive effects, the results should be viewed with caution due to the lack of randomisation, the small numbers of participants involved, and the limited and heterogeneous evidence base.

Keywords:

• dementia
• stroke
• long-term care

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Professor Rumona Dickson (Liverpool Reviews & Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, UK) for her methodological expertise, Ms Janet Atkinson (LRiG) who provided administrative support, Mr Ken Linkman (Liverpool University Library) for his help with the search strategy, The Library Team at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Library for their assistance in obtaining multiple references, Mrs Gill Donovan (Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) for supporting leave of the first author and Mrs Karen Mock (Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) for providing clinical cover.

Additional information

Funding

This review has been funded solely by LRiG. However, the views expressed in this publication are those of the authors.