Dissemination Strategies for Clinical Practice Guidelines Focused on Imaging for Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review

To investigate campaigns developed for the dissemination of clinical practice guidelines for the appropriate use of imaging for low back pain.

A scoping review was conducted to identify resources which report on dissemination strategies for low back pain imaging clinical practice guidelines. A database search was conducted of MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, Scopus, Google, Google Scholar and National Health Service Websites. The full text of relevant resources identified from the title and abstract screen were retrieved and assessed for inclusion eligibility.

The initial search identified 1087 resources. Following a title, abstract and full-text screen, 26 resources were included for final synthesis. Relevant data were extracted and categorised into the following three key components: (1). Location of the campaign, (2). Campaign details, (3). Dissemination strategies as defined by five methods (educational resources, presentations and interactive interventions, media form, clinical decision support, and other). Educational resources and interactive interventions were the most commonly used strategies, with media resources implemented the least.

Low back pain imaging clinical practice guidelines have been disseminated to clinicians at regional and national levels; however, there are few international campaigns. The comprehensive list of dissemination strategies included in this study has created a foundation to facilitate the design of future campaigns to enhance the scope of trialled strategies to consider the complexities of clinical practice and its ever present need to change.