Abstract
Background: There is much concern at the substantial vulnerabilities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) youth as a consequence of discrimination, stigmatisation and marginalisation. Recent research highlights the importance of understanding factors that can promote wellbeing for this population. This paper presents a protocol for a scoping review which aims to systematically map and synthesise the extent and nature of the peer-reviewed, published and unpublished academic literature on the protective factors that promote wellbeing for sexual and gender minority young people. Methods: In accordance with the methodological framework for scoping reviews, the following six stages will be undertaken: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data, (5) collating, summarising and reporting results and (6) consultation. The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation will be used throughout the review process. Key inclusion criteria will use the Population, Concept, Context approach, with two reviewers independently conducting the screening and extraction stages across five databases. Identified protective factors will be collated, summarised and categorised iteratively by one reviewer in consultation with the review team. Stakeholder consultation is a key strength of the scoping review process and will be complemented by the public patient involvement of LGBTI+ young people with expertise by experience. Conclusions: The scoping review has the potential to inform policy, practice and future research through enhanced understandings of the complex interplay of factors that promote wellbeing for sexual minority, gender minority and intersex youth. This first stage of the research process will inform the development of a larger research project. The findings will be disseminated through a peer reviewed publication, a conference presentation and by sharing the findings with key stakeholders, including LGBTI+ young people.
Highlights
It is accepted that there is “no health without mental health”[1], with the World Health Organization (WHO) describing mental health as “a state of wellbeing”[2]
The strategy was the first of its kind in a global context, with three overarching goals with the third of these prioritising the development of the research and data environment[37]. This acknowledges the dearth of research internationally and the urgent need for Irish-specific studies to ensure policy and practice is evidence-informed in relation to promoting LGBTI+ youth wellbeing[37]
To our knowledge, this will be the first scoping review exploring the protective factors that promote the wellbeing of sexual minority, gender minority and intersex youth, including young people who self-identify as LGBTI+
Summary
Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. In response to the suggestion of major revisions, careful consideration has been given to the following: inclusion of grey literature; the stakeholder consultation; the use of the LGBTI+ acronym; definitions and operationalisation of concepts of wellbeing and mental health; timeframes for the search; inclusion criteria regarding age; and the rationale for choice of scoping review. The reasoning underpinning the inclusion of mental health as an integral component of wellbeing has been outlined This facilitated further refining of the research question, inclusion and exclusion criteria and the search strategy. Gender identity refers to someone’s internal sense of their gender as male, female or non-binary, and may not accord with the sex ascribed at birth[11] As such, those who identify as transgender and non-binary have a sexual orientation and may be heterosexual, lesbian/gay, bisexual or asexual[11]. Those who identify as intersex have a gender identity and sexual orientation
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