Mobile phone-based systems for community-led injury response and coordination: a scoping review protocol

Traumatic injuries remain a leading cause of preventable death globally, and continue to burden global healthcare services, particularly in low-resource settings. Mobile phone-based community injury response and coordination (mCIRC) systems represent a promising solution in facilitating rapid identification of injured persons, and coordinating a community-led response as an alternative or adjunct to a formal emergency service. mCIRC systems may use technologies such as geolocation and push notifications to mobilize trained responders in the vicinity of the incident, ensuring timely intervention before professional medical services arrive. This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence on the effectiveness and implementation of mCIRC systems in response to trauma as well as other medical emergencies, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. We will evaluate their deployment in both high- and low-resource settings. In particular, the review will assess how these systems improve health outcomes of patients, such as reducing mortality and morbidity, and the feasibility and uptake of such systems by the global community. Additionally, the review will explore the operational challenges and facilitators of implementing such systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where healthcare infrastructure is often limited. This review will offer a comprehensive insight into the role of mobile technologies in improving trauma care at the community level, highlighting possible avenues for future research in this domain.