Designing vaping prevention messages for youth: a scoping review protocol

Youth vaping has become a significant public health concern globally. Effective prevention messages are essential to reduce the prevalence of vaping among young people. However, evidence on the design of youth vaping prevention messages is limited. This scoping review aims to systematically map the existing evidence, identify research gaps, and provide recommendations for future research and practice.

The review will be conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A comprehensive search strategy has been developed focusing on the population-concept-context elements of youth, vaping, prevention, message design and global context. Six databases will be searched: Web of Science Core Collection (including MEDLINE), PubMed, Embase, Scopus, APA PsycInfo and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Grey literature sources, including relevant organisational websites, will also be searched. Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts, review full texts, and extract data using a predefined data charting form. The extracted data will be synthesised narratively.

As this scoping review will only include published data and does not involve human participants, institutional review board approval is not required. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, academic networks, and social media.