Developing an inventory of ongoing/unpublished arts and narrative-based approaches as knowledge translation strategies in health care

Background: Systematic review is an essential component of evidence-based health care, yet limited to published academic literature. We aimed to augment an ongoing systematic review on the use of art and narrative as knowledge translation (KT) strategies. Methods: We describe the development of an exploratory process to complement systematic reviews through locating ongoing or unpublished projects. Data were collected through email communication, social media and a secondary analysis of an ongoing database of projects that involve arts in the health care field. Information gathered included: project title, focus, arts or narrative approaches used, anticipated completion date and links to relevant social media, webpages and applicable materials. Results: The inventory captures the ways in which arts and narrative-based KT initiatives are used within a health care context beyond formal research literature. Conclusions: This exploratory process would facilitate updating systematic reviews later while simultaneously capture themes and emerging ideas in unpublished works.