Older people with frailty are more likely to experience negative psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Deterioration of psychological outcomes, in turn, further aggravates the frailty status among this vulnerable population. Considering the undesirable effects of polypharmacy on older people, the use of non-pharmacological intervention has attracted increasing attention. However, the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on psychological outcomes are not clear.

This review aims to systematically identify and synthesise evidence to examine the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions on psychological outcomes among older people with frailty.

Eight electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, CNKI and WANFANG were searched from inception to 14 November 2022. Randomised controlled trials and clinical controlled trials of non-pharmacological interventions on psychological outcomes in older people with frailty were included. The quality of the included studies was assessed using The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool v2. Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan5.3. The certainty of the evidence was evaluated by GRADE approach.

A total of 4726 articles were initially identified and screened for title and abstract. Eventually, 13 articles from 11 studies were included in this review. The results of the overall risk of bias indicated that four studies had low risk; five studies had some concerns, and two studies had high risk. Four types of intervention were identified, including physical exercise (n = 3), complementary and alternative medicine (music therapy = 1, acupressure = 1), case management (n = 5), and advance care planning (n = 1). The pooled analysis showed that group-based physical exercise had significant beneficial effects on depressive symptoms (SMD: − 0.46, 95% CI: − 0.81 to − 0.10, p = .01; low certainty). There is no difference between the effects of case management and usual care on depressive symptoms (SMD: 0.02, 95% CI: − 0.14 to 0.19, p = .79; high certainty). Narrative synthesis of evidence suggested the effects of complementary and alternative medicine on improving depressive symptoms and general mental status.

Psychological outcomes in older people with frailty are understudied. Group-based physical exercise could be a strategy to reduce depressive symptoms among older people with frailty. There is limited evidence showing the effects of complementary and alternative medicine on improving psychological outcomes. More rigorous trials are needed to examine the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on psychological outcomes among older people with frailty.

(PROSPERO): CRD42022303370.