Animal-vehicle collisions, roadkilled animals, and human health: A scoping review protocol

Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) are a growing global problem with significant implications for human, animal, and ecosystem health. In the United States, approximately one million vertebrates are killed by vehicles each day. Research on roadkilled animals has increased over time, especially regarding wildlife and ecosystem impacts, economic costs, and human physical health risks. However, less is known about how involvement with AVCs or encounters with roadkilled animals influences human health more broadly, including psychological, emotional, psychosocial, and community-level outcomes.

Guided by the One Health framework, this study protocol presents the methodological plan to identify and synthesize current evidence on how AVCs and exposure to roadkilled animals affect human health. The scoping review has not yet been conducted.

The methodological approach follows PRISMA-ScR guidelines and Arksey and O'Malley's five stage framework. A comprehensive, librarian‑assisted search will be conducted across six databases-Scopus, CABI Digital Library, Web of Science, Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide, TRID, and PubMed-without restrictions on publication year or peer‑review status. Reference lists of included records will also be screened. Three reviewers will independently screen the titles, abstracts, and full texts, with each record reviewed by a combination of two reviewers.

Records will be included if they examine how AVCs or roadkilled animals affect any dimension of human physical, mental, or social well‑being and are available in English.

Data will be extracted using a standardized form and analyzed through content analysis to describe the distribution of evidence and organize findings into themes.

By consolidating dispersed knowledge across disciplines, this review will provide the first comprehensive overview of how AVCs and roadkilled animal exposure affect human health. Findings will inform public policy, transportation planning, wildlife management, and future interdisciplinary research aimed at integrated One Health solutions.