Interventions or strategies to improve access to mental health services among Black African immigrants in high-income host countries: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review will map and describe the literature on interventions or strategies to improve access to mental health services among Black African immigrants residing in high-income countries. INTRODUCTION: Black African immigrants residing in high-income countries experience a disproportionately high prevalence of mental health issues driven by pre-migration trauma, migration stressors, and post-migration social determinants. Despite this burden, access to mental health services remains limited due to barriers such as stigma, cultural incongruence, and systemic inequities. While existing systematic reviews have explored barriers to care, little is known about interventions or strategies that have been implemented to address these challenges. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This review will consider studies involving adult Black African immigrants residing in high-income countries. Eligible sources will include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies and relevant gray literature that describe, evaluate, or report on interventions or strategies aimed at improving access to mental health care (including approachability, acceptability, availability and accommodation, affordability, and appropriateness). METHODS: This review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search will be conducted across PubMed, Embase (Embase.com), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), and ProQuest Central (ProQuest) along with relevant gray literature sources. Two reviewers will independently screen all identified sources and extract data using an extraction tool developed by the review team. Data will be presented in tabular and graphical formats and summarized descriptively. Findings will be mapped to the 5 dimensions of accessibility to identify existing strategies and gaps in the evidence. REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://osf.io/8sqyx.