Integrating physiotherapy into primary care models: A scoping review protocol

Physiotherapists (PTs) working in primary care settings within an interprofessional team can lead to favourable health outcomes and decreased burden on the healthcare system. Although PT models of care are important to primary care delivery, there is a lack of knowledge and evidence on the characteristics of these models of care, the differences and similarities between the models, and the barriers and facilitators to implementing these models. This scoping review protocol aims to fill this knowledge gap by synthesizing the evidence and characteristics of models of care that integrate physiotherapists within primary care teams, mapping the similarities and differences, and describing barriers and facilitators to implementing models of care that integrate physiotherapists within primary care teams.

The scoping review is based on the Joanne Briggs Institute (JBI) framework. It is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRIMSA-ScR). A comprehensive search strategy will be used to find relevant papers in six databases: OVID MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. Grey literature will be searched through OpenGrey, Theses Global, ProQuest Dissertation, and Google Scholar. Quantitative and qualitative study designs will be included, with two reviewers independently selecting each article on Covidence. Data will be extracted using a pre-piloted data extraction sheet and synthesized narratively to identify themes and patterns.

This scoping review will synthesize the evidence on models of care that integrate physiotherapists within primary care teams. It will provide evidence to inform the implementation of these models of care and identify research gaps that need to be addressed. The protocol is registered on Open Science Framework registries at https://osf.io/kh83r/.