What does collaborative healthcare for people with musculoskeletal-related conditions look like? A scoping review

Managing musculoskeletal-related conditions usually benefits from involving patients in their care. Collaborative approaches support better health outcomes and enable individuals to take a more active role. However, the musculoskeletal literature remains unclear on how collaboration is reported and measured, as well as the factors that facilitate or inhibit it.

Summarise the components of the King's Fund shared responsibility for health framework published in the musculoskeletal-related literature, and map the barriers, facilitators, and outcome measures of these components.

Scoping review.

Five electronic databases were searched. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts followed by full texts to determine eligibility. Data relevant to the objective of the review were extracted independently by the lead author and ranked by frequency count.

The search returned 4,101 items, with 140 eligible for inclusion. The most frequently reported components of collaborative healthcare were self-management, education, and shared decision-making. Collaborative approaches including peer support and education, working with communities, designing services in partnership, personal budgets, patient leaders, and involving family/carers were modestly reported. Seventeen barriers and thirty-six facilitators to collaborative healthcare were identified and mapped to patient, clinician, and system-level organisational factors, with seventy-three outcome measures across eight constructs reported.

The current musculoskeletal literature sparsely covers the range of collaborative approaches outlined by the King's fund shared responsibility for health framework. More research is required to support the implementation and measurement of collaborative approaches to healthcare when managing musculoskeletal-related conditions.

Not applicable.