Exploring masculinities in rehabilitation research: A scoping review protocol

Rehabilitation involves help-seeking, engagement with professionals, adherence to treatment plans, adaptation to bodily changes, and participation in everyday life, all of which may be shaped by masculinities. Although masculinities have been examined in several health-related fields, existing literature on masculinities in rehabilitation remains fragmented across conditions, settings, and rehabilitation disciplines. To our knowledge, no review has mapped how masculinities have been conceptualized and examined across rehabilitation contexts.

This scoping review aims to map the nature and extent of peer-reviewed literature examining masculinities in rehabilitation contexts.

This review will follow Arksey and O'Malley's framework and Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and will be reported in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, and Global Index Medicus. Key journals focused on men and masculinities and reference lists of included articles and relevant reviews will also be searched. Eligible sources will include English-language peer-reviewed empirical studies and conceptual or theoretical papers that examine masculinities in relation to rehabilitation services, experiences, practices, or contexts. Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts, and full texts. Data will be charted in Google Sheets and analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

The review will provide a descriptive map of how masculinities have been conceptualized, operationalized, and examined across rehabilitation contexts.

Findings will identify knowledge gaps and inform future rehabilitation research that more explicitly considers gendered processes.