An Umbrella Review of Qualitative Evidence Syntheses of Patients' Experiences Across the Total Knee Arthroplasty Journey
Year: 2026
Type: study-registration
Abstract: This is an umbrella review (a review of reviews) of published qualitative evidence syntheses (QES) that include patients’ perspectives on total knee arthroplasty (TKA). It forms part of a broader doctoral research project on the TKA patient journey. The unit of analysis is each QES, not the primary studies. The purpose is to identify, characterise and appraise the existing QES, in order to map what has already been synthesised across the TKA journey and to identify areas of convergence, divergence and gap. Six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Epistemonikos, Web of Science and Scopus) were searched on 22 September 2026, and the searches were updated on 3 October 2026. Records were screened in the Covidence. Each included QES will be described in terms of its population, phenomenon, journey stage, synthesis approach, reporting standard, depth of synthesis and currency, and appraised using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. Overlap of primary studies across the included QES is assessed with a citation matrix and the corrected covered area. The review follows JBI umbrella review guidance, and will be reported using PRIOR, adapted for qualitative evidence syntheses. Expected outcomes are a descriptive map of the published QES, an assessment of their methodological quality and overlap, a summary of the phenomena and findings they report, and an analysis of gaps and implications for future research and practice.
Source: Open Science Framework
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7224253836