Exploring diverse applications of team-based care in preventive medicine: a scoping review

Preventive medicine is essential for improving population health and reducing health care costs. Team-based care (TBC) is increasingly recognised as a promising approach to enhance outcomes for chronic diseases and improving care experiences. However, a comprehensive review of TBC in preventive medicine is lacking.

This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of currently available TBC models in preventive care, including their composition, structure and delivery methods. Additionally, it sought to explore the qualitative outcomes such as perceptions of patients and health care providers, along with TBC-related processes.

Following the Arksey and O'Malley Framework, relevant articles were searched and selected from databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycINFO, covering records published from inception to March 2023. Relevant data from the selected articles were then extracted and synthesised. Studies implementing TBC approaches for preventive health services were included.

A total of 6779 titles and abstracts were screened; 92 studies were included in the final analysis. Preventive health services focused on disease screening, vaccination, maternal and child health, and chronic disease care. The TBC models used varied (including multidisciplinary teams and patient-centred homes). The common outcomes were TBC delivery, implementation, health care providers' perceptions of TBC practices, their roles as well as patients' satisfaction.

While TBC is widely implemented in preventive medicine, significant variability exists in team organisation across conditions and settings. Future research should focus on systematically evaluating the applicability and efficacy of currently available TBC models in different preventive care settings.