Facilitators and barriers to accessing mental health care services and social supports among perinatal refugee women: a qualitative systematic review protocol

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this qualitative review is to identify, critically appraise, and synthesize evidence describing facilitators and barriers to perinatal refugee women's access to mental health care services and social supports. INTRODUCTION: Perinatal refugee women are a vulnerable population and at risk of mental health illness. Understanding facilitators and barriers will provide a better understanding of their experiences to inform health care practices, programs, and policies. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This qualitative review will consider all peer-reviewed qualitative studies and gray literature on perinatal refugee women's experiences of accessing mental health care services and social supports. Non-English articles and studies that do not explicitly state participants' migration status as refugees will be excluded. METHODS: This review will adhere to the JBI methodology for conducting qualitative systematic reviews. Key information sources searched will be CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. Search terms will be modified for each information source. Sources of evidence published in English between January 2011 and the present will be assessed for inclusion. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts using the inclusion criteria for study selection. The reviewers will critically appraise methodological quality and rigor. Data will be extracted on facilitators and barriers among perinatal refugee women accessing mental health care services and social supports. Synthesis will involve aggregation of these findings to generate a set of statements based on their meaning similarity. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42021245240.