Scoping reviews in occupational therapy: The what, why, and how to

Abstract

The scoping review methodology is an efficient and effective approach for locating, analysing, summarising and presenting available literature and research findings on a particular topic. In comparison to a systematic review, it does not have the same high level of rigour, however does provide a general overview of the literature using a structured methodology to ensure consistency. The methodology of scoping reviews is effective for researchers where there is limited high level evidence available about a topic that would be required by a systematic review and provides an efficient way of identifying previous research and current knowledge gaps. Although there has been some scoping reviews published, it is predicted that there will be an increase in the future when the use of scoping reviews in occupational therapy is more fully realised and operationalised.