Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Formerly Homeless Queer Students Enrolled at sub-Saharan African Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Review Protocol

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has continuously been an overlooked public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite the documented effects this mental disorder has had on the 1.6 billion people that occupy this region. Globally, 80% of the worlds population, in low-and-middle-income countries, live with an untreated mental health issue. SSA has approximately 41 countries that are defined as low income (LICs) and lower-middle income (LMICs). 83% of (LICs) and 78% of (LMICs) have a national mental health policy and implementation strategy. However, only 3% of LICs and 14% of LMICs have successfully implemented these policies and guiding principles. In addition, LICs only have 0,8% mental health workers, while LMICs have reported of only retaining 2,3% workers that specialise in mental healthcare. This is unfortunate because 90% of SSA countries have made efforts to eliminate user fees at healthcare facilities. The ineffective execution of mental health policy plans is catastrophic for people that live in SSA, especially for socioeconomically marginalised groups such as homeless people, and queer individuals. These two groups have a higher rate of PTSD because of the numerous difficulties they encounter whilst trying to access healthcare facilities in this region. 70,3% of countries in Europe and 73% of countries in North America offer queer individuals protection against stigma and discrimination such as queerphobia in educational and social settings, combined with the criminalisation of this form of discrimination. On the other hand, in SSA queer students that have previously experienced homelessness, and are now enrolled at an HEI encounter political (besmirching state policies), economic (limited access to resources due to structural queerphobia), societal (discrimination and social exclusion) and health implications (continuous rise in the students mental health issues). MethodsThe primary aim of this systematic review is to map out and synthesise evidence through conducting a multi-database investigation for both qualitative, and quantitative studies on post-traumatic stress disorder in formerly homeless queer students enrolled at sub-Saharan African higher education institutions. The following databases will be utilized to search for studies: PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Cochrane Reviews, WHO, UNHCR, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNESCO, ACHPR, UN-Habitat, Sociology Database and Scopus. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) ScR flow chart/diagram presented in figure 1 will be utilized to summarize the study selection process. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=129 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/25335905v2_fig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (22K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f92637org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@3c0196org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18c42e0org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@17a8712_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 1:C_FLOATNO The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) ScR flow chart/diagram C_FIG ConclusionThe proposed systematic review will generate findings pertaining to PTSD, and describe how this mental disorder affects formerly homeless queer students enrolled at SSA HEIs. these findings will/can reveal the current existing literature gaps, regarding PTSD as a whole, and also the lack in research/studies focusing on formerly homeless queer students enrolled at HEIs. Through addressing these gaps in this systematic review, humanitarian organisations can conduct further research on this topic. Moreover, through further attention being afforded to this topic, numerous amendments can be made with regards to WHOs Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 and the SDGs 3,4,5,10 and 11. Systematic reviews registrationPROSPERO CRD420251141977