Using theater as an innovative knowledge translation approach for health research: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to synthesize the existing literature on how theater has been used as a knowledge translation approach for health research and to identify the outcome measures employed for evaluation as well as the facilitators/challenges related to this approach.

Introduction: The use of arts-based knowledge translation methods is relatively new in health research but has already shown to have positive impacts on knowledge, attitudes, policy, and practice. Specifically, theater has proven to be an effective approach for communicating research findings in a way that stimulates thought and discussion on important health-related topics.

Inclusion criteria: This review will include scholarly literature on how theater is being used as a knowledge translation approach for health research. The review will not impose any limitations related to demographic variables, health issues, or settings. The review will consider papers using any study design, and will also consider other literature, such as protocols, descriptive papers, unpublished papers, and evaluation reports.

Methods: This review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. The databases to be searched will include CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost), and Scopus. Google/Google Scholar and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses will also be searched for unpublished studies and gray literature. All literature identified in the search will be screened by 2 independent reviewers and the results will be presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram. The data extracted from the included literature will be presented in both tabular and narrative format.

Review registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/gbcpj.