Experiences of nurses caring for maternal immigrant and refugee women: A qualitative systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: This review will focus on studies inquiring into nurses working across diverse health care settings and their experiences of caring for immigrant and refugee women who are pregnant or mothering. Within this review, diverse terminologies used to conceptualize “nurse,” immigrant,” and “refugee” will also be captured. Introduction: Immigrant and refugee women who are pregnant or mothering experience poorer health than nondisplaced women. Nurses are pivotal in providing care to this population. Understanding nursing experiences can reveal structural barriers and facilitators to equitable care provision. Inclusion criteria: Peer-reviewed, qualitative studies that include nurses working across diverse health care settings and providing care to involuntary immigrant and refugee maternal women will be considered. Studies where nurses are described as being educated within a basic and generalized nursing program and have been authorized by a regulatory organization to practice nursing in their country will be included. Methods: Key information sources searched include CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and PubMed. Search terms will be adapted for each information source. Study selection includes screening titles and abstracts by two independent reviewers against the inclusion criteria. These reviewers will then critically appraise for methodological quality and begin data extraction to understand experiences of nurses and diverse understandings of “nurse,” “immigrant,” and “refugee.” Synthesis includes assembling and categorizing findings on the basis of meaning similarity. A set of statements will be generated representing this synthesis. Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42019137922.