JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Familiarity is a concept often used in literature but is not well-defined or understood. As a key concept in rural nursing theory, the conceptual understanding of familiarity is currently incomplete. The findings from this scoping review will inform a concept analysis using Walker and Avant’s method and to identify and define the missing key components of familiarity.

Objective:

The objective of this scoping review is to examine and synthesize the existing literature about the concept of familiarity.

Methods:

The Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review framework guided the identification of literature published from 2016-2022 on familiarity. Following the PRISMA-ScR reporting standard, the familiarity scoping review is registered on Open Science Framework (registration DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZB8VF). A total of eight databases, including Pubmed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus with full text, Psychinfo, Communication Source, EBSCO MegaFILE, Medline, Nursing & Allied Health Database, and Science Direct, will be searched for twenty-two search terms. Covidence software will be used to manage the scoping review with each citation independently reviewed by two research team members for eligibility. Eligibility will be determined using a two-level process. Each title and abstract will be screened for eligibility; for citations deemed eligible, a full-text article review will be conducted. The scoping review is expected to locate a large body of literature and eligibility criteria will be refined during the title and abstract screening process. In addition, reference list scanning will be used to locate relevant literature.

Results:

In rural practice settings, familiarity is a recognized concern for nurses and healthcare professionals. Nurses in rural practice experience familiarity with patients, families, and the environment without recognizing it as a factor in rural settings. The findings from this review will further the understanding of familiarity and how it affects rural nursing practice.

Conclusions:

This review will support a full understanding and add clarity to the concept of familiarity. These new insights will advance the understanding of how familiarity influences rural healthcare practice and will clarify the theoretical statement #3 in rural nursing theory.