Measurement of discrimination in health care services: scoping review protocol.

AbstractBackground: Experiences of discrimination are linked to adverse outcomes across the life course, including poor perinatal outcomes, increased prevalence of maladaptive behaviours during childhood, higher rates of alcohol and substance use in adulthood, and a greater prevalence of schizophrenia in older age. Experience of discrimination within health care services is reported in 11% of respondents of the 2023 Special Eurobaromoter on Discrimination in EU. However, scares evidence exist on measurement and monitoring of discrimination within health care service delivery. Assessing and monitoring discrimination is essential for understanding its patterns, types, and the contexts in which it occurs, as well as informing the development of strategies at the macro, meso, and micro levels to address it.Objective: The current scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of available instruments for the measurement of different forms of discrimination (including: racism, xenophobia, heterosexism, sexism, gender binarism, ageism, discrimination on the basis of religion and cultural safety) within the health care service delivery context.Eligibility criteria:1) Concept: studies are deemed eligible if they report the development and validation of the instruments to measure discrimination, racism, heterosexism, gender binarism, religious discrimination, xenophobic discrimination, microaggression and cultural safety within health care services.2) Context: health care service delivery i.e. studies reporting on primary care and specialist care are deemed eligible. Studies reporting on home based care and public health surveillance are excluded.3) Participants: patients (inpatients and outpatients), family\informal caregivers, health workers and other health care service delivery interest holders are deemed eligible in the current review. Studies reporting on children (under the age of 18) are excluded.Methods: Scoping review is conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) updated guidelines and reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Search will be conducted on three databases MEDLINE all (via Ovid), PsycINFO(via Ovid). No restriction on the time period is placed.