Quality of life of transgender people under the lens of social determinants of health: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionThere is an urgent need for knowledge about the transgender population to inform the development of clinical protocols and training of health professionals on the unique issues affecting this population. Discussing transgender quality of life (QoL) through the lens of social determinants of health (SDOHs) would enable gender-specific health interventions. Here, we aimed to review the evidence on the QoL of transgender people from an SDOH perspective. Methods and analysisA scoping review (ScR) protocol following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews statement and guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute was used. MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and registry sites such as ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO ICTRP will be searched. Additional sources to be searched include ProQuest Dissertations/Theses Global, British Library, Google Scholar and Preprints for Health Sciences-medRXiv. Two independent researchers will carry out the selection, data charting and data synthesis. No date restriction will be applied in this ScR. The search will be restricted to articles published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The results will be presented in tables, narrative summaries and graphs and will be graded on the type of data presented and the results. The search strategy will be updated in April 2023. The expected completion date of this ScR is July 2023. Ethics and disseminationThis ScR protocol does not require ethical approval. Dissemination plans include peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations to be shared with experts in the field, and advisory groups to inform discussions on future research. It is hoped that our findings will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, stakeholders, public and private managers, and the general population concerned with this emerging public health issue.