Mapping simulation-based activities for health professionals in rural and remote contexts in high-income countries: a scoping review protocol

Objective: This scoping review will aim to map the existing academic literature on simulation-based activities that are designed with and delivered for health professionals in geographically rural and remote contexts in high-income countries.

Introduction: Simulation-based health care activities are implemented in health services to increase patient safety because they allow health professionals to prepare, learn, practice, rehearse, and improve clinical performance and teamwork. Simulation-based activities are increasingly being used in rural and remote areas, where resources are limited compared with metropolitan areas.

Inclusion criteria: This review will include all primary and peer-reviewed research articles and abstracts that report health simulation methodologies and activities that have been used in rural and remote health care contexts in high-income countries.

Methods: The proposed review will follow the JBI guidelines for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Databases to be searched will include Embase, Emcare, and MEDLINE (all searched via Ovid), Scopus, PubMed, and the Cochrane Database. Titles and abstracts will be screened independently by 2 reviewers, followed by full-text screening. Data will be extracted and analyzed to address the review questions.

Review registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/pu6gv.