Patient–practitioner interaction within the field of prosthetics and orthotics: A scoping review

Abstract

Patient–practitioner interaction has been shown to positively affect patient outcomes and experiences in various medical fields. However, the career of prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) includes components and processes unique to its field. Therefore, the concepts, practices, and information of patient–practitioner interaction need to be identified to understand how P&O practitioners can positively influence patient outcomes. A scoping review of PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL was conducted for empirical research involving patient–practitioner interaction in P&O between the years of 1990 and 2021. Initial searches discovered 646 unique articles. Only 2 quantitative studies and 3 qualitative studies were included in the final analysis. Three interconnected themes were prevalent across the 5 articles: the knowledge available to the patient and the practitioner, the difference in expectations of both patient and practitioner, and communication processes. These 3 concepts create a feedback loop of consequences that can be addressed by ensuring that adequate and useful patient–practitioner communication is applied during the care process. Despite multiple calls for research in this area over the past 50 years, very few articles have addressed patient–practitioner interactions. Future research is needed to understand how interactions in P&O can be optimized to positively affect patient experience and outcomes.