Mapping the Intersecting Contexts of Migration and Pediatric Pain over the Last Decade: A Rapid Scoping Review...

Migrant youth often experience multiple, intersecting systems of oppression (e.g., racism, poverty, and discrimination) that may contribute to disparities in pediatric pain prevalence, severity, and management. However, pain in migrant youth remains poorly understood. This rapid scoping review will examine the nature and extent of the existing literature on pain among migrant youth.

This protocol has been preregistered on the Open Science Framework. The review will follow guidelines for conducting and reporting rapid and scoping reviews, and will be guided by PCC (population, concept, context) and PROGRESS-Plus methodological frameworks. Electronic searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus for primary research studies published since 2015 that describe and examine pain among migrant youth (age < 18 years). Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts, and full texts, with disagreements resolved by consensus or a third reviewer. Data charting will be piloted on 5-10 studies, then independently conducted by two reviewers. Extracted data will include study characteristics (authors, year, purpose, methodology); participant sociodemographic information (e.g., racial and/or ethnic identity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic position); migration status; countries of origin and destination; definition and characteristics of pain; and measures of systemic factors (e.g., racism).

Findings will be synthesized descriptively and interpreted within sociocultural and geopolitical contexts to better understand pain among migrant youth.

This review will aim to provide critical insights into the intersections between migration and pediatric pain, offering guidance for future research, clinical practice, and policy to improve pain management and outcomes for migrant youth.