Examining the experiences of Indigenous families seeking health information for their sick or injured child: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission drew attention to the inequalities and systemic harms experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada and called on the Canadian government and healthcare professionals to close the gap related to Indigenous communities access to appropriate healthcare services. The Manitoba Metis Federation (self-governing organization representing Red River Metis) identified a need for Red River Metis families to have meaningful resources when seeking emergency care for their children. A better understanding of Metis families experiences in seeking child health information is needed to develop culturally relevant pediatric resources. To date, the literature on Indigenous families experiences seeking child health information has not been synthesized. A scoping review will map the literature on Indigenous families experiences seeking health information to care for a sick or injured child; and identify the barriers and facilitators to accessing this information. Methods and analysisJoanna Briggs Institute methodology was used to develop the research question, What is the extent and nature of the literature available on the experiences of Indigenous families seeking health information for their sick or injured child? The search strategy, developed with a research librarian with extensive experience in Indigenous Peoples health, includes searching MEDLINE, EMBASE PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus databases; grey literature, by searching the internet and consulting reference lists of key publications; examining key Indigenous research journal articles not indexed in the major biomedical databases; and snowball sampling. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts against the inclusion criteria, then screen the full texts of selected citations. Data will be extracted, collated and charted to summarize the types of studies, healthcare contexts, health information accessed, how health information was accessed, barriers and facilitators to accessing information and related measures. Ethics and DisseminationA consultation exercise with a community advisory committee will review results and inform future research. Results will be integrated with findings from other project stages to inform the adaptation of a child health resource for Red River Metis families.