Inclusion criteria

Types of participants

Participants for question 1: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Australia who have sought or accessed primary health care services since 2008. There is no age limit. The authors also acknowledge the heterogeneity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations and therefore, will attempt to consider the experiences of a number of different types of communities, including regional (urban, rural, and remote) and language groups wherever possible.

Participants for question 2: Primary healthcare providers, including clinicians, managers and administrators, who have provided care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities since 2008.

Phenomena and intervention of interest

The phenomena of interest for question one is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' experiences of Closing the Gap strategies which have been implemented in primary healthcare settings.

The phenomena of interest for question two is primary healthcare providers' experiences of Closing the Gap strategies which have been implemented in primary healthcare settings.

Context

The context is the primary healthcare services provided for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Types of studies

The qualitative component of the review will consider studies that focus on qualitative data including, but not limited to, designs such as Indigenist methodologies, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, action research and feminist research.

In the absence of research studies, other text such as opinion papers and reports will be considered. The textual component of the review will consider expert opinion, discussion papers, position papers and other text.

Search strategy

The search strategy aims to find both published and unpublished studies. A three-step search strategy will be utilized in this review. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL will be undertaken followed by analysis of the text words contained in the title and abstract, and of the index terms used to describe article. A second search using all identified keywords and index terms will then be undertaken across all included databases. Thirdly, the reference list of all identified reports and articles will be searched for additional studies.

Only studies published in English will be considered for inclusion. As the Closing the Gap Strategy was endorsed by the Australian Government in 2008 a date limitation of 2008-2014 will be applied in the search.

The databases to be searched include:

EBSCO CINHAL

Embase

OVID Medline

Web of science

PsychInfo

The search for unpublished studies will include:

ATSIHealth via Informit Online

Australian Indigenous Health InfoN et

Primary Health Care Research & Information Service

Closing the Gap Clearing-House

Initial keywords to be used will be:

Closing the Gap, Close the Gap

Primary Healthcare, Community Care, General Practice

Indigenous Australian, Aboriginal, Aborigine, Torres Strait Islander

Assessment of methodological quality

Qualitative papers selected for retrieval will be assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological validity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI) (Appendix I). Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer.

Textual papers selected for retrieval will be assessed by two independent reviewers for authenticity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute Narrative, Opinion and Text Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-NOTARI) (Appendix II). Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer.

Data extraction

Qualitative data will be extracted from papers included in the review by one reviewer using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-QARI (Appendix III). The data extracted will include details about the study population methods, phenomena of interest and intervention and setting/context of significance to the review questions and objective.

Textual data will be extracted from papers included in the review using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-NOTARI (Appendix IVI). The data extracted will be as described directly above.

Data synthesis

Qualitative research findings will, where possible be pooled using JBI-QARI. This will involve the aggregation or synthesis of findings to generate a set of statements that represent that aggregation, through assembling the findings rated according to their quality, and categorising these findings on the basis of similarity in meaning. These categories will then be subjected to a meta-synthesis in order to produce a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings that can be used as a basis for evidence-based policy and practice. Where textual pooling is not possible the findings will be presented in narrative form.

Textual papers will, where possible be pooled using JBI-NOTARI. This will involve the aggregation or synthesis of conclusions to generate a set of statements that represent that aggregation, through assembling and categorising these conclusions on the basis of similarity in meaning. These categories will then be subjected to a meta-synthesis in order to produce a single comprehensive set of synthesized findings that can be used as a basis for evidence-based policy and practice. Where textual pooling is not possible the conclusions will be presented in narrative form.

Conflicts of interest

None to declare.

Acknowledgements

This systematic literature review is being undertaken as part of the requirements for a Masters in Clinical Science.

References