Framework for successful school reintegration after psychiatric hospitalization: A systematic synthesis of expert recommendations

Abstract This systematic synthesis aimed to identify and synthesize expert recommendations from best available clinical and scientific literature for successful school reintegration of students after psychiatric hospitalization. Following principles outlined by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating Centre (EPPI‐Centre), we searched 15 electronic databases with all possible literature from 1985 to May 2019 and conducted both supplementary retrospective and prospective reference searches. Fifty‐three documents (37 scientific and 16 clinical) met the inclusion criteria. A thematic synthesis of identified recommendations led to the development and definition of a nine‐step framework to guide collaboration between school and mental health practitioners. This innovative framework offers clear, structured and consensus‐based prescriptive guidelines to determine what should be done, for whom, by whom, when, and how, to facilitate the school reintegration of students hospitalized for mental health issues. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of this step‐based framework.