Influences of the Built, Physical, or Spatial Environment on Breastfeeding: A Scoping Review Protocol

<ns3:p>Background Breastfeeding remains a critical public health strategy with the potential to lower childhood morbidity and mortality; however, breastfeeding rates remain below optimal levels. Extensive research suggests that the impact of individual and social determinants on breastfeeding is significant. Nevertheless, the influence of built, physical, or spatial environments remains largely underexplored or is included within other constructs. Given the generally low breastfeeding rates, understanding how the built environment affects maternal health is crucial for shaping policies, urban planning, and service provision. Objective This scoping review aims to systematically evaluate the global evidence on how built and physical environments influence breastfeeding practices. Methods and analysis This review will be conducted in accordance with the methodology established by the Joanna Briggs Institute for scoping reviews. The inclusion criteria will follow the Population, Concepts, and Contexts framework. A data charting tool will be developed and utilised for all articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Both qualitative and quantitative descriptive analyses will be performed. The PAGER (Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice, and Research recommendations) framework is proposed to analyse and present the review findings. Conclusion This review will summarise the evidence and identify gaps to inform interventions and guide future research.</ns3:p>