Health Disparities in Rhinology-A Scoping Review

This scoping review aims to systematically evaluate the existing health disparities research in rhinology, identifying key themes, gaps, and opportunities for future investigation.

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted using terms related to rhinology topics and health disparities as defined by the PROGRESS-plus framework.

The review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Studies were included if they were conducted in the US population and focused on health disparities in rhinology. International studies, abstracts, and studies not focused on rhinology or disparities were excluded. Independent reviewers conducted title and abstract screening, full-text reviews, and data extraction.

A total of 139 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were published after 2001 (n = 134), with the majority employing cross-sectional (n = 62) or retrospective cohort designs (n = 59). Disparities related to race/ethnicity (57.6%), gender/sex (29.5%), and socioeconomic status (23.0%) were most frequently studied. Chronic rhinosinusitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma were the most researched topics. Within Kilbourne's framework, 90.6% of studies focused on detecting disparities, with fewer aimed at understanding (9.4%) and none on reducing them.

This review explores the scope of health disparities literature in rhinology. The majority of the literature focuses on chronic rhinosinusitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma and includes other topics to a lesser extent. Although the majority of studies focus on detecting disparities, there is a significant need for studies that seek to understand the causal mechanisms behind disparities and develop interventions to reduce them.