Community-driven, culturally tailored interventions for MSK pain in Black/African Americans: A scoping review

Musculoskeletal pain costs over $100 billion annually in the U.S., severely impacting daily life, especially chronic low back pain. Disparities in prevalence and management, particularly for Blacks/African Americans, are exacerbated by socioeconomic, cultural, and healthcare access barriers, leading to more severe pain and functional impairments. This scoping review aimed to examine the effectiveness of community health-driven, culturally tailored self-management interventions for musculoskeletal pain in Black/African Americans. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines, with a literature search conducted across multiple databases. Articles were included based on criteria, focusing on studies that examine the effectiveness and components of such interventions. Publications from peer-reviewed journals were searched using the databases PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus, employing the following search terms: "musculoskeletal pain," "chronic low back pain," "chronic neck pain," "chronic knee pain," "osteoarthritis," "self-management interventions," and "African Americans" or "Blacks", etc. A total of 9 articles were included for the review. The findings revealed that these interventions, which incorporate educational, behavioral, and physical components, show promise in reducing pain severity, improving self-efficacy, and enhancing function. The use of a community health-driven approach and cultural tailoring enhances the relevance and effectiveness of the interventions. However, research is limited by small sample sizes and short-term follow-ups, and most studies predominantly involve female participants. Conclusively, Community-driven, culturally tailored interventions can potentially improve outcomes for Blacks/African Americans suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain. Further research is needed to explore long-term effects, address gender imbalances in study populations, and develop more comprehensive interventions considering socioeconomic and cultural factors. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents the effectiveness of community health-driven, culturally tailored self-management interventions for musculoskeletal pain in Blacks/African Americans. These community-driven, culturally tailored interventions may help clinicians be more culturally informed and improve chronic and musculoskeletal pain outcomes among Blacks/African Americans.