Determining the uptake of best practices in pain interdisciplinary teams: a scoping review

BackgroundMany evidence-based practices, such as interdisciplinary teams (IDT) for chronic pain, are mandated in clinical settings. However, the number of pain IDT programs continues to decline, limiting access to evidence-based treatment. The aim of this review is to determine the degree to which pain IDT programs and the studies describing those programs have adopted best practices that improve replicability and sustainability.MethodsThis scoping review included the following key outcomes: international standards for core elements of pain IDT programs (i.e., Gatchel), standardized outcome domains (i.e., IMMPACT), and transparency factors to increase replicability (i.e., TiDIER and RE-AIM).ResultsA search of PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO for studies on pain IDT programs from 1978 to November 2022 yielded 6489 results, with 219 articles included in the final analyses. Results demonstrate divergent approaches across pain IDT programs, limited inclusion of best practices on intervention reporting that have not improved with time, and lack of reporting of factors that may support scalability and sustainability.ConclusionResearchers, clinicians, and administrators are encouraged to incorporate best practices from the literature on pain IDTs and related fields like dissemination and implementation science to improve sustainability, thus increasing access to gold-standard care for patients with chronic pain.