Return to driving following surgery to the upper limb: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction Upper limb surgery is a common burden on the active and ageing population, often resulting in a transient state of functional impairment. Many activities of daily living can be affected, including ability to drive. Currently there are no guidelines regarding safe return to driving following upper limb surgery. This scoping review aims to systematically review the current literature on the topic of driving following surgery to the upper limb.Methods and analysis Informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses—Scoping Review extension guidelines, this protocol details the scoping review’s methodological and analytical approaches. The review will consider all primary and secondary source articles that examine return to driving following surgery to the upper limb, including the impact of orthoses on functional ability to drive. All studies will be included regardless of methodology and text and opinion pieces will also be considered. Studies conducted in any geographical location or setting will be included in the review. Systematic searches of scientific databases such as OVID (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane), NCBI (PubMed), Scopus, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (CINAHL), Web of Science, Google Scholar and ProQuest will be conducted. In addition, relevant organisational websites, dissertations, theses from university repositories and grey literature will be included. Further articles will be identified by searching references of relevant studies. Studies conducted in English in any year will be included. Two independent reviewers will screen identified literature sources based on predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Discrepancies will be resolved through discussion, therefore, negating the need for a third reviewer. Article data will be presented in tabular or graphical format along with a narrative summary.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval is not required. Findings will be disseminated through professional networks, peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.