Digital Patient Decision Aids for Cancer Prevention in Socially Disadvantaged Women

This scoping review aims to gather and analyze existing digital Patient Decision Aids (PtDAs) for cancer prevention targeting socially disadvantaged women.
Cancer is a leading cause of premature mortality among women. Cancer prevention strategies can effectively reduce cancer incidence and mortality. Socially disadvantaged women face lower screening rates and higher mortality. Effective cancer prevention requires informed decision-making. One approach is the use of digital PtDAs. They represent a promising innovation for socially disadvantaged populations. However, their characteristics, development process, and evaluation for cancer prevention targeting these women remain underexplored.
This scoping review will include digital PtDAs designed to meet the needs of socially disadvantaged women aged 18–75 in the context of cancer prevention and meeting the minimum criteria established by the International Patient Decision Aid Standards. We will include studies and sources regardless healthcare settings and locations, covering quantitative and qualitative research, relevant reviews, and gray literature.
This scoping review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A comprehensive three-step search will be conducted across MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane databases, Google Scholar and gray literature sources. All studies and sources available in any language will be considered. Citations will be imported into Rayyan for screening. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction, and analysis. Data will be summarized using tables and descriptive content analysis to identify characteristics, development processes, and evaluation methods of digital PtDAs. The review will be reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Findings will be submitted for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences focused on cancer prevention, shared decision-making, digital health or socially disadvantaged women. We will share findings with healthcare provider, public health and cancer prevention stakeholders, and socially disadvantaged communities and their network. This protocol has been registered with Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/f3428/).