Experiences of primary healthcare staff in Europe when caring for asylum seekers and refugees: A scoping review protocol.

<ns7:p>Background Migration significantly influences the health of asylum seekers and refugees, as it heightens vulnerabilities and poor health. Health systems struggle with providing specific care to these populations due to specific health needs compounded by language, cultural and literacy barriers. Primary care offers critical opportunities for healthcare providers to address specific health inequities that asylum seekers and refugees face. Understanding provider experiences is essential to determine how health systems support their staff, caring for asylum seeking and refugee populations. Objective This review will investigate the experiences of primary and community healthcare providers in the European Union (EU), providing care to asylum seekers and refugees, and the factors which influence these experiences. Method The scoping review will follow the methodology from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), alongside Arksey &amp; O’Malley’s framework. The primary research question asks, “What are the experiences of healthcare staff while providing care to asylum seekers and refugees in primary and community settings?”. Secondary questions will explore contextual differences within the EU. Studies published between 2015 to 2025 will be searched across PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO and BASE databases, alongside grey literature searches. Data extraction will include information on the key aspects that shape experiences alongside potential challenges that have been documented. Comparisons will be made on the differences observed across professional roles and national contexts. Stakeholders have been consulted and will be presented with the findings for their interpretation into relevance and applicability across various contexts. Conclusion This review aims to inform policy and practice by identifying key factors shaping healthcare staff experiences, thereby guiding improvements in primary care and migrant health services. This review will examine the experiences of community-based healthcare providers caring for asylum seekers and refugees, across the EU, with the aim of identifying the key factors that shape these experiences.</ns7:p>