To scope or not to scope? The benefits and challenges of integrating scoping studies in rapid qualitative research and evaluation.

Creating sustainable change and fostering collaborative relationships between researchers and stakeholders is a recognized challenge in the field of evaluation. Identifying programme purpose, cultural context, potential challenges, and engaging stakeholders before an evaluation can produce responsive and impactful evaluations. This paper discusses implementing a targeted scoping study within the framework of rapid qualitative research and evaluation. A scoping study enables collaborative decision-making on evaluation priorities, and functions as an evaluability assessment in time-sensitive contexts. In our experience, a scoping study can be carried out in as little as five days or as long as six weeks. It is timely to revisit the question of what factors influence evaluation outcomes, a scoping study can be used to support an evaluation, address access to data and research, and strengthen communication channels. The methodological approach was used to co-produce an evaluation with an NGO that accurately reflected their needs, recognizing possible challenges and solutions.

Employee-Driven Innovation in Health Organizations: Insights From a Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Employee-driven innovation (EDI) occurs when frontline actors in health organizations use their firsthand experience to spur new ideas to transform care. Despite its increasing prevalence in health organizations, the organizational conditions under which EDI is operationalized have received little scholarly attention. METHODS: This scoping review identifies gaps and assembles existing knowledge on four questions: What is EDI in health organizations and which frontline actors are involved? What are the characteristics of the EDI process? What contextual factors enable or impede EDI? And what benefits does EDI bring to health organizations? We searched seven databases with keywords related to EDI in health organizations. After screening 1580 studies by title and abstract, we undertook full-text review of 453 articles, retaining 60 for analysis. We performed a descriptive and an inductive thematic analysis guided by the four questions. RESULTS: Findings reveal an heterogeneous literature. Most articles are descriptive (n = 41). Few studies are conceptual and empirical (n = 15) and four are conference papers. EDI was often described as a participatory, learning innovation process involving frontline clinical and non-clinical staff and managers. Majority EDI were top-down, often driven by the organization's focus on participatory improvement and innovation and research-based initiatives. Five categories of methods is used in top-down EDI, two thirds of which includes a learning, a team and/or a digital component. Hybrid EDI often involves a team-based component. Bottom-up EDI emerged spontaneously from the work of frontline actors. Enablers, barriers, and benefits of EDI are seen at macro, organizational, team and individual levels; some benefits spread to other health organizations and health systems. CONCLUSION: This scoping review provides a comprehensive understanding of the organizational conditions under which EDI is operationalized. It offers insights for researchers, health organizations, and policy-makers about how and why frontline actors' involvement is crucial for the transformation of care.

Implementation of Ultrasound in Preclinical Education at Osteopathic Medical Schools: A Scoping Review.

Ultrasound (US) is recognized as a practical and safe form of medical imaging that utilizes ultrasound waves to develop images for diagnostic and procedural purposes. The clinical use of US has dramatically increased over recent years, secondary to the ease of use, portability, and functionality of US. The success of point-of-care ultrasound implementation into residency curricula has further underscored the importance of US education and its potential for use earlier in medical instruction. Osteopathic medical education places a significant emphasis on anatomy, thus a scoping review of the literature regarding the use of US in osteopathic preclinical years is warranted. The goal of this scoping study is to assess the current literature regarding the implementation and benefit of US instruction in preclinical osteopathic medical curricula. Four resources were utilized for the review, including PubMed, Google Scholar, JOM (formerly JAOA), and AMED, each with contiguous criteria for applicable literature. The searches were performed before the end of January 2023. Inclusion criteria for researched literature focused on osteopathic preclinical utilization of US technologies. Articles were subsequently evaluated using thematic and contextual analysis. Of the 2,968 articles evaluated, 22 articles met the inclusion criteria. There were several themes associated with the implementation of US within osteopathic curricula, including positive student perceptions of the modality, improved learning outcomes, and adaptations of US instruction into anatomical sciences courses. There is a need for continued research regarding US implementation in preclinical osteopathic medical school education, including within anatomical sciences. A minority of osteopathic schools have published details regarding how US has been applied in their curriculum.

Cutaneous Fungal Infections in Patients Experiencing Homelessness and Treatment in Low-Resource Settings: A Scoping Review.

Patients experiencing homelessness (PEH) suffer from a high burden of cutaneous fungal infections. Preventative treatment is important as such infections can lead to harmful complications such as cellulitis and even osteomyelitis. There are sparse data regarding cutaneous fungal infections of homeless populations and management in low-resource settings. A MEDLINE search was conducted using the key terms "cutaneous," "fungal," "infections," "dermatophytes," and "homeless." The search included case-control, cohort, and randomized controlled trials published in the English language. This scoping review of studies yielded information with regard to practical treatment advice for providers in low-resource settings, including medical, hygiene, prevention, and treatment options for PEH with cutaneous fungal infections, the most common of which were tinea pedis (3-38%) and onychomycosis (1.6-15.5%). Few studies have been conducted on the differences between sheltered and unsheltered homeless patients, which can have treatment implications. Systemic antifungal therapy should be carefully considered for diffuse, refractory, or nail-based cutaneous fungal infections if there is a history of alcohol use disorder or liver disease. While PEH have a high risk of alcohol use disorder, this can make definitive treatment challenging.

What Should Be the Topics of a Prospective Study on Ovarian Masses in Children?-Results of a Multicenter Retrospective Study and a Scoping Literature Review.

PURPOSE: to determine management problems of ovarian masses in girls in order to form a baseline for prospective randomized studies of the established topics and quality improvement of our management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a national analysis of clinical aspects of ovarian masses in girls operated on in Poland, analyzed retrospectively medical files of all consecutive patients aged 0-18 who underwent surgeries for ovarian lesions between 2012 and 2017 at 17 pediatric surgical departments and complemented the analysis with a scoping review of a recent primary research related to ovarian masses in children. RESULTS: The study group comprised 595 patients. Forty-four (7.39%) girls were diagnosed with malignant tumors. The overall preservation rate was 64.54%. The analysis revealed that positive tumor markers (OR = 10.3), lesions larger than 6 cm (OR = 4.17) and solid mass on ultrasound examination (OR = 5.34) are interdependent variables differentiating malignant tumors from non-malignant lesions (X42 = 79.1; p = 0.00000). Our scoping review revealed 10 major branches of research within the topic of ovarian masses in pediatric population. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed an overview of the field with the emphasis on the local environment. Our next step is a multi-institutional prospective study of a quality improvement project implementation based on the obtained knowledge.

Mental Health Impacts of Climate Change on Women: a Scoping Review.

Climate change is the largest threat to human health of the twenty-first century. Women are disproportionately affected by climate change. While the physical health impacts of climate change are an active area of research, works related to the mental health impacts are less developed. Furthermore, the mental health impacts of climate change on women are a particular area of interest due to women's disproportionately negative experiences with climate change and climate change-related events. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review is to understand what is known from the existing literature regarding the mental health impacts of climate change on women. The methods for this review follow the Arksey and O'Malley framework for a scoping review. By searching databases for publications that discuss women, mental health, and climate change, and screening for relevant work, 20 studies that met inclusion criteria were included in the review. Themes derived from the reviewed studies include negative mental health outcomes, gender-based violence, burdens of care and responsibility, attachment to land and traditions, and the importance of intersectionality. From these findings, there is a clear need for climate policies on adaptation and mitigation to reflect women's unique needs to ensure their health and safety.

Pediatric surgical errors: A systematic scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Medical errors were largely concealed prior to the landmark report "To Err Is Human". The purpose of this systematic scoping review was to determine the extent pediatric surgery defines and studies errors, and to explore themes among papers focused on errors in pediatric surgery. METHODS: The methodological framework used to conduct this scoping study has been outlined by Arksey and O'Malley. In January 2020, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. Oxford Level of Evidence was assigned to each study; only studies rated Level 3 or higher were included. RESULTS: Of 3,064 initial studies, 12 were included in the final analysis: 4 cohort studies, and 8 outcome/audit studies. This data represented 5,442,000 aggregate patients and 8,893 errors. There were 6 different error definitions and 5 study methods. Common themes amongst the studies included a systems-focused approach, an increase in errors seen with increased complexity, and studies exploring the relationship between error and adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed multiple error definitions, multiple error study methods, and common themes described in the pediatric surgical literature. Opportunities exist to improve the safety of surgical care of children by reducing errors. Original Scientific Research Type of Study: Systematic Scoping Review Level of Evidence Rating: 1.

Hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions: What conditions make inter-country comparisons possible?

Hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions have been extensively used in health services research to assess access, quality and performance of primary health care. Inter-country comparisons can assist policy-makers in pursuing better health outcomes by contrasting policy design, implementation and evaluation. The objective of this study is to identify the conceptual, methodological, contextual and policy dimensions and factors that need to be accounted for when comparing these types of hospitalizations across countries. A conceptual framework for inter-country comparisons was drawn based on a review of 18 studies with inter-country comparison of ambulatory care sensitive conditions hospitalizations. The dimensions include methodological choices; population's demographic, epidemiologic and socio-economic profiles and features of the health services and system. Main factors include access and quality of primary health care, availability of health workforce and health facilities, health interventions and inequalities. The proposed framework can assist in designing studies and interpreting findings of inter-country comparisons of ambulatory care sensitive conditions hospitalizations, accelerating learning and progress towards universal health coverage.

Report practices in the field of animal hoarding: a scoping study of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Animal hoarding has been portrayed as a manifestation of hoarding behaviour that is escalating worldwide. Professionals trying to support or help animal hoarders face several challenges due to the lack of systematized information on intervention strategies. AIMS: To comprehensively review and systematize the information available on intervention practices with this population. METHOD: A scoping study was performed using five databases (B-ON, EBSCO, SCOPUS, Web of SCIENCE, PubMed), searching for papers published until March 2020. Fifteen papers were selected and submitted to thematic analysis. RESULTS: The main findings point to two main themes: (i) what is done-responding to animal hoarding as an emergency; and (ii) what should be done-responding animal hoarding in a long-term, integrated manner. CONCLUSIONS: To have a consistent strategy that assures better results, it seems relevant to prepare community interventions based on collaborative and solution-focused approaches. In addition, there is a strong need to have more research on animal hoarding and on successful intervention strategies.

A preliminary study of the scope of practice of dental hygienists and oral health providers in Asia.

The aim of the present study was to gather information to clarify the scope of oral health services in Asia, focusing particularly on the role of dental hygienists, anticipating that international exchange of data on oral health would benefit the establishment of such systems in other countries. Data on oral health providers were obtained from reliable sources, cited reports and professional websites, or from embassies of Asian countries located in Japan. The embassies were contacted by email, telephone, post, or interview. The survey was conducted from February 1, 2015, until June 18, 2019. Twenty-eight countries in Asia were selected according to their classification by the United Nations. Among them, 14 countries were found to recognize the professional status of dental hygienists. Nine of the 28 countries had no working dental hygienists, and their role was taken by other oral hygiene providers. It was unclear whether oral hygiene providers were operating in 5 of those countries. Many countries were found to lack formal oral health systems, and some had limited systems in rural areas. Dental hygienists work to prevent oral diseases in order to protect teeth and gums, as is the case in Japan. However, other oral health providers offer other dental services in other Asian countries, probably depending on individual national circumstances.

What recent primary studies tell us about ovarian teratomas in children: a scoping review.

Our knowledge of ovarian teratomas in children is still far from complete, and much remains to be discovered. Here, we conduct a scoping review of the primary research related to ovarian teratomas in pediatric age. To our knowledge, there is no published synthesis of the literature surrounding ovarian teratomas in children using scoping review methodology. We identified 24 studies from 11 countries; 18 studies were retrospective, 3 were prospective, and 3 were experimental. There were 6 studies concerning mature teratomas, 5 concerning immature teratomas, and 13 that included both tumor types. Overall, 9 out of all the studies concerned more than 50 patients. We revealed 7 major branches of research within the topic of ovarian teratoma in pediatric population: recurrence rate/relapse and follow-up strategy, malignant potential, prognostic factors, use of sparing surgery, differences between the use of laparoscopy and laparotomy, use of chemotherapy, and additional examinations to test the character of the lesion (immature vs. mature). This scoping review has revealed a number of knowledge gaps in the evidence base for pediatric ovarian teratomas. Overall, this topic has not been extensively explored, and more research dedicated exclusively to this tumor and patient population is required.

Teaching the affective domain in community-based medical education: A scoping review.

Background: The affective domain is one of the essential areas in the assessment of the learning outcomes of medical students, apart from the cognitive and psychomotor domains. Community-based medical education (CBME) is a common instructional program for medical students in learning about these domains. However, preceptors and researchers pay less attention to the affective domain as compared to the other two learning domains.Aim: To describe the state of the literature on teaching the affective domain through CBME and to develop an initial model for instructional purposes.Methods: A scoping review of the literature was conducted. Out of the 971 references initially retrieved, 22 published references were selected. Relevant data from these references were extracted and analyzed through thematic analysis.Results and Conclusion: The various affective outcomes of CBME in the literature are commonly taught through role modelling and mentoring, providing opportunity to apply knowledge, and immersing in local organizations and communities. However, these teaching strategies will be optimized through a structured and rigorous process of reflection. Reflection is central to the learning experience of medical students, especially that affective outcomes are commonly less apparent. The findings of this review resulted to a proposed initial model in teaching the affective domain in CBME.

Food Insecurity and Aging: A Scoping Study of the Literature.

Literature on food insecurity (FI) and aging is limited and scattered across disciplines, the reasons for which include the nascence of the study of "hunger" more generally, and relatively lower rates of FI among older people. This scoping review synthesized and characterized the current research to prompt a more critical examination of food insecurity and aging. Data extraction included reviewing and characterizing the empirical, methodological and conceptual contributions of each study, accessed from selected health sciences and social sciences databases. Thirty-eight studies were included from 2,041 titles. Different methods and operationalizations of FI and age were found to be used across studies. Thematic analysis revealed, with few exceptions, consistent tendencies towards the biomedicalization of the FI issue alongside aging. These findings reinforce the value of population-level monitoring of FI and uptake of standard measures. Moving forward, the issue of FI and aging is an opportune topic for critical social analysis.

Strengths and weaknesses of existing data sources to support research to address the opioids crisis.

Better opioid prescribing practices, promoting effective opioid use disorder treatment, improving naloxone access, and enhancing public health surveillance are strategies central to reducing opioid-related morbidity and mortality. Successfully advancing and evaluating these strategies requires leveraging and linking existing secondary data sources. We conducted a scoping study in Fall 2017 at RAND, including a literature search (updated in December 2018) complemented by semi-structured interviews with policymakers and researchers, to identify data sources and linking strategies commonly used in opioid studies, describe data source strengths and limitations, and highlight opportunities to use data to address high-priority public health research questions. We identified 306 articles, published between 2005 and 2018, that conducted secondary analyses of existing data to examine one or more public health strategies. Multiple secondary data sources, available at national, state, and local levels, support such research, with substantial breadth in data availability, data contents, and the data's ability to support multi-level analyses over time. Interviewees identified opportunities to expand existing capabilities through systematic enhancements, including greater support to states for creating and facilitating data use, as well as key data challenges, such as data availability lags and difficulties matching individual-level data over time or across datasets. Multiple secondary data sources exist that can be used to examine the impact of public health approaches to addressing the opioid crisis. Greater data access, improved usability for research purposes, and data element standardization can enhance their value, as can improved data availability timeliness and better data comparability across jurisdictions.

Organisational factors that facilitate research use in public health policy-making: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Although important syntheses and theoretical works exist in relation to understanding the organisational factors that facilitate research use, these contributions differ in their scope and object of study as well as their theoretical underpinnings. Therefore, from an exploratory angle, it may be useful to map out the current literature on organisational factors of research use in public health policy-making when revisiting existing theories and frameworks to gain further theoretical insights. METHODS: Herein, a scoping review technique and thematic content analysis were used to bring together findings from both synthesised and empirical studies of different types to map out the organisational factors that facilitate research use in public health policy-making. RESULTS: A total of 14 reviews and 40 empirical studies were included in the analysis. These were thematically coded and the intra-organisational factors reported as enabling research use were examined. Five main categories of organisational factors that advance research use in policy organisations - (1) individual factors, (2) the management of research integration, (3) organisational systems and infrastructures of research use, (4) institutional structures and rules for policy-making, and (5) organisational characteristics - were derived as well as 18 subcategories and a total of 64 specific factors, where 27 factors were well supported by research. CONCLUSIONS: Using a scoping review methodology, the intra-organisational factors influencing research use in policy-making (including individual factors) were systematically mapped and the theories applied in this area of research were assessed. The review findings confirm the importance of an intra-organisational perspective when exploring research use, showing that many organisational factors are critical facilitators of research use but also that many factors and mechanisms are understudied. The synthesis shows a lack of studies on politicians and the need for more theoretically founded research. Despite increased efforts to update the existing evidential and theoretical basis of research use, we still need frameworks that combine different approaches and theories to help us grasp the complex organisational mechanisms that facilitate research use in policy settings.

A Comprehensive Framework to Evaluate Websites: Literature Review and Development of GoodWeb.

BACKGROUND: Attention is turning toward increasing the quality of websites and quality evaluation to attract new users and retain existing users. OBJECTIVE: This scoping study aimed to review and define existing worldwide methodologies and techniques to evaluate websites and provide a framework of appropriate website attributes that could be applied to any future website evaluations. METHODS: We systematically searched electronic databases and gray literature for studies of website evaluation. The results were exported to EndNote software, duplicates were removed, and eligible studies were identified. The results have been presented in narrative form. RESULTS: A total of 69 studies met the inclusion criteria. The extracted data included type of website, aim or purpose of the study, study populations (users and experts), sample size, setting (controlled environment and remotely assessed), website attributes evaluated, process of methodology, and process of analysis. Methods of evaluation varied and included questionnaires, observed website browsing, interviews or focus groups, and Web usage analysis. Evaluations using both users and experts and controlled and remote settings are represented. Website attributes that were examined included usability or ease of use, content, design criteria, functionality, appearance, interactivity, satisfaction, and loyalty. Website evaluation methods should be tailored to the needs of specific websites and individual aims of evaluations. GoodWeb, a website evaluation guide, has been presented with a case scenario. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping study supports the open debate of defining the quality of websites, and there are numerous approaches and models to evaluate it. However, as this study provides a framework of the existing literature of website evaluation, it presents a guide of options for evaluating websites, including which attributes to analyze and options for appropriate methods.

Community-based exercise programs for cancer survivors: a scoping review of practice-based evidence.

PURPOSE: Based on randomized controlled trials, exercise is an efficacious strategy to improve quality of life (QOL) among cancer survivors. However, the effectiveness of exercise programs to improve QOL in real-world settings is unknown, as are factors related to external validity. This hinders dissemination and scalability. This scoping review synthesized published research on community-based exercise programs for cancer survivors and reported on the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM). METHODS: A systematic literature search identified community-based exercise programs for adult cancer survivors (1980-March 2018), that met the following inclusion criteria: at least one face-to-face exercise session, the primary aim of program evaluation (i.e., feasibility/effectiveness), and pre/post measure of QOL. Data were coded using the RE-AIM framework. The effect size was calculated for overall QOL. RESULTS: Electronic database search yielded 553 articles; 31 studies describing unique programs were included for review. All studies described at least one element of implementation and most (80.6%) reported a significant (p < .05) improvement in at least one subscale, or total QOL. Few studies reported on indicators of reach (16.1%), adoption (6.5%), individual (16.1%), or system-level maintenance (32.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Community-based exercise programs are effective for improving QOL in adult cancer survivors. Recommendations are provided to improve reporting across RE-AIM dimensions, which is an important step to enhance the scalability of programs and thus, the potential for exercise to be fully integrated into system-level standard care for cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Community-based exercise programs are a resource to improve QOL for adult cancer survivors.

Methodological approaches for investigating links between dental and chronic diseases with claims data: A scoping study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of methodological approaches to assess the relationship between dental diseases and other noncommunicable diseases on the basis of claims data. METHODS: Based on the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley, a scoping study was conducted. By searching electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and LILACS), appropriate articles were identified. After extracting relevant information and entering it into a data-charting form, the study characteristics and the methodological approaches were summarized descriptively. RESULTS: Fifty-one articles were identified for inclusion in the analysis. Most of the selected studies (78 percent) originated from Taiwan and employed a cohort design. The majority of studies considered dental diseases, particularly periodontal disease (PD) measures, but no common standard was identified for the definition of PD. Unmeasured confounding, misclassification, and surveillance bias were reported to be the main limitations of the claims data analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Claims data provide a very useful information source to further delineate the relationship between PDs and other noncommunicable diseases. If diagnostic codes are available, they seem to be the most suitable tool to assess PD in claims-based studies. In databases that do not contain dental diagnostic codes, e.g., databases in Germany and the United States, the identification of PD is a particular challenge. The inclusion of dental diagnostic codes in all claims databases is strongly recommended. Due to the public health relevance of PD, there is a need for more comprehensive documentation of dental parameters within claims data.

Identifying "real-world" initiatives for knowledge translation tools: a case study of community-based physical activity programs for persons with physical disability in Canada.

"Real-world" initiatives represent an important source of information for evidence-based practice; however, accessing information about initiatives is often challenging. Casebooks are an innovative knowledge translation (KT) tool for researchers, practitioners, and end-users to address "research-to-implementation gaps" through sharing "real-world" experiences. Several casebooks have been published; yet, they remain inconsistent in their methodological approach for identifying "real-world" initiatives. The purpose of this project is to describe and apply systematic scoping study methods for the identification of "real-world" initiatives relevant for the development of KT tools. Specifically, systematic scoping study methods were developed to identify community-based physical activity (PA) programs for persons with physical disabilities across Canada. To identify PA programs, a search strategy was developed and included five distinct search approaches: (i) peer-reviewed literature databases, (ii) grey literature databases, (iii) customized Google search engines, (iv) targeted websites, and (v) consultation with content experts. Title screening and hand searching identified 478 potentially relevant PA programs. Full record review identified 72 PA programs that met KT tool criteria. The most comprehensive search approach was targeted websites, which identified 25 (35%) unique PA programs, followed by content experts (n = 12; 17%). Only four (5.6%) unique PA programs were identified via custom Google searching. No PA programs were uniquely identified through peer- or grey literature database searches. This study describes and applies a systematic scoping study methodology that serves as a basis for identifying and selecting "real-world" initiatives that are central to the development of evidence-based KT tools.