Defining and assessing complex situations in integrated social and health care: A scoping review protocol

Introduction. In a context of increasing social, mental, and physical vulnerability, there is wide agreement on the need to address health and social needs in an integrated manner. Yet, considering such “complexity” remains a pervasive challenge for professionals in social and health care, especially due to a lack of operational definitions. This scoping review aims to map existing definitions of complexity in social and health care and to identify shared assessment tools that support interprofessional and coordinated intervention. Methods and analysis. The review will follow the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., 2018) and updated guidance (Peters et al., 2020). Literature search will be conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), SocINDEX (EBSCO), Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest), and Cairn.info databases using appropriate keywords, index terms and search equations. All selected study bibliographies will undergo manual screening ("snowballing"). Studies will be selected based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, screened by title and abstracts. Data from full-text articles meeting the inclusion criteria will be extracted independently by three authors. Evaluation discrepancies will be resolved through consensus. Results. Findings will be presented in descriptive tables and summarized narratively in relation to the review’s objectives and questions. Conclusion. This scoping review is expected to contribute to the development of an operational definition of complex situations in integrated social and health care and to identify tools that support professionals in assessing these situations in practice.