Integrated service strategies for women experiencing intimate partner violence and substance use problems: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE: This review will map and synthesize evidence on integrated service strategies across health care and community-based settings for addressing co-occurring intimate partner violence and substance use problems among women, including reported outcomes and contextual barriers and facilitators of implementation. INTRODUCTION: Intimate partner violence disproportionately affects women and is highly associated with substance use problems, either their own or their partners'. Although services for intimate partner violence and substance use have demonstrated effectiveness individually, they frequently operate in silos, creating barriers for women experiencing both. While earlier reviews explored related collaborations, no recent synthesis has systematically assessed integrated service strategies specifically tailored to women facing co-occurring intimate partner violence and substance use problems. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This review will consider evidence sources examining integrated service strategies for women experiencing co-occurring challenges, such as co-treatment, joint screening, coordinated service delivery, or referral linkages. Eligible sources will include peer-reviewed primary studies, reviews, and opinion papers published in English since 2010. Exclusions will apply to research addressing only intimate partner violence or substance use, general collaboration without clear integration models, or populations and outcomes not focused on women. METHODS: A comprehensive search will be conducted in multiple databases. Titles and abstracts will be screened, and data will be extracted using a structured form, then synthesized with coding and descriptive analysis. Results will be presented in tabular and narrative formats to classify integrated service strategies, reported outcomes, and contextual factors related to implementation barriers and facilitators. REVIEW REGISTRATION: OSF https://osf.io/ry3tf/overview.