Course and outcome of psychosis in black Caribbean populations and other ethnic groups living in the UK: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND

A higher incidence of psychosis has repeatedly been reported in black Caribbean populations in the UK. This has been attributed to a number of biological, psychological and sociocultural causes, including black Caribbean populations having a different illness course and outcome compared to other ethnic populations living in the UK.

AIMS: A systematic review of UK-based quantitative studies, which compared at least two aspects of outcome in black Caribbean populations and other ethnic populations living in the UK, was conducted to assess whether the current body of research suggests that there are differences in the course and outcome of psychoses for these populations.

METHOD: A wide variety of databases were searched using MeSH terms and keywords. Studies were evaluated according to specified inclusion criteria and analysed using predefined scoring criteria.

RESULTS

Searches yielded a heterogeneous collection of studies. Large variances in methodological approaches and the quality of studies were reported. Many studies reported little or no difference between black Caribbean and other ethnic populations living in the UK.

CONCLUSIONS

Emphasis is placed on the unreliability of these findings given the methodological limitations of the studies, and the need for higher-quality research in this area is highlighted.