Disparities Research in Sports Medicine Lacks Qualitative Studies, Community Engagement, and Original Interventions.

Background: Across the health care landscape, patients experience disparities based on insurance, sex, gender, race, and other determinants. Such findings have been reported in orthopaedic sports medicine; nonetheless, the overall quality of the literature, including its limitations and impact, is unknown. Understanding this will allow researchers to address areas of need and ultimately reduce disparities. Purpose: To explore trends in orthopaedic sports medicine disparities research, with attention to study design, community engagement, and the development of interventions. Study Design: Scoping review; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The Clarivate Web of Science platform was queried for English-language articles in the orthopedics and sports sciences categories between 2013 and 2022 with the following keywords: "disparities,""disparity,""inequity,""inequities,""diversity,""socioeconomic,""sex,""gender,""insurance,""race," and "neighborhood." Abstracts were reviewed manually to determine study inclusion. Bibliometric data were collected, as was information on the area of focus, study design, determinants of interest, funding sources, and intervention design. Descriptive statistics were recorded. Results: The query yielded 7274 articles, of which 86 addressed disparities or diversity topics in sports medicine. A total of 57 (66.3%) articles were published between 2019 and 2022, and 24 (27.9%) were published in 2022. Predominant journals included the Conclusion: This study provides insights into the evolving landscape of sports medicine disparities research. Although the volume of this research has increased substantially in recent years, the literature consists mostly of retrospective studies with a lack of qualitative methodology, community engagement, and development of interventions to reduce disparities. These findings highlight areas for future research.