Studies generally focus on one type of chronic condition and the effect of medical cannabis (MC) on symptoms; little is known about the perceptions and engagement of patients living with chronic conditions regarding the use of MC. This scoping review aims to explore: (1) what are the dimensions addressed in studies on MC that deal with patients' perceptions of MC? and (2) how have patients been engaged in developing these studies and their methodologies? Through these objectives, we have identified areas for improving future research. We searched five databases and applied exclusion criteria to select relevant articles. A thematic analysis approach was used to identify the main themes: (1) reasons to use, to stop using or not to use MC, (2) effects of MC on patients themselves and empowerment, (3) perspective and knowledge about MC, and (4) discussion with relatives and healthcare professionals. Of 53 articles, the main interest when assessing the perceptions of MC is to identify the reasons to use MC (n = 39), while few articles focused on the reasons leading to stop using MC (n = 13). The majority (85%) appraise the effects of MC as perceived by patients. Less than one third assessed patients’ sense of empowerment. Articles determining the beliefs surrounding and knowledge of MC (n = 41) generally addressed the concerns about or the comfort level with respect to using MC. Only six articles assessed patients’ stereotypes regarding cannabis. Concerns about stigma constituted the main topic while assessing relationships with relatives. Some articles included patients in the research, but none of them had co-created the data collection tool with patients. Our review outlined that few studies considered chronic diseases as a whole and that few patients are involved in the co-construction of data collection tools as well. There is an evidence gap concerning the results in terms of methodological quality when engaging patients in their design. Future research should evaluate why cannabis’ effectiveness varies between patients, and how access affects the decision to use or not to use MC, particularly regarding the relationship between patients and healthcare providers. Future research should consider age and gender while assessing perceptions and should take into consideration the legislation status of cannabis as these factors could in fact shape perception. To reduce stigma and stereotypes about MC users, better quality and accessible information on MC should be disseminated.

中文翻译：

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慢性病患者对使用医用大麻的看法和参与：范围界定审查

研究通常集中于一种慢性病以及医用大麻（MC）对症状的影响；关于慢性病患者对 MC 使用的看法和参与度知之甚少。本次范围审查旨在探讨：(1) MC 研究涉及哪些维度来处理患者对 MC 的看法？ (2) 患者如何参与这些研究及其方法的开发？通过这些目标，我们确定了未来研究改进的领域。我们搜索了五个数据库并应用排除标准来选择相关文章。采用主题分析方法来确定主题：(1) 使用、停止使用或不使用 MC 的原因，(2) MC 对患者自身和赋权的影响，(3) 关于 MC 的观点和知识，以及(4) 与亲属和医疗保健专业人员讨论。在 53 篇文章中，评估对 MC 的看法时的主要兴趣是确定使用 MC 的原因（n = 39），而很少有文章关注导致停止使用 MC 的原因（n = 13）。大多数人 (85%) 评价患者认为的 MC 效果。不到三分之一的人评估了患者的赋权感。确定 MC 周围信念和知识的文章 (n = 41) 通常解决了对使用 MC 的担忧或舒适度。只有六篇文章评估了患者对大麻的刻板印象。在评估与亲属的关系时，对耻辱的担忧构成了主要话题。一些文章将患者纳入研究中，但没有一篇文章与患者共同创建了数据收集工具。我们的综述指出，很少有研究将慢性病视为一个整体，也很少有患者参与数据收集工具的共建。当让患者参与设计时，在方法学质量方面的结果存在证据差距。未来的研究应该评估为什么大麻的有效性在患者之间存在差异，以及获取如何影响使用或不使用 MC 的决定，特别是关于患者和医疗保健提供者之间的关系。未来的研究应在评估看法时考虑年龄和性别，并应考虑大麻的立法状况，因为这些因素实际上可能会影响看法。为了减少对 MC 用户的耻辱和刻板印象，应传播更高质量且易于获取的 MC 信息。