Management of cardiometabolic diseases among tribal populations in South Asia: a scoping review protocol

This scoping review will systematically map and describe evidence on cardiometabolic disease management in and for South Asian tribal (Indigenous) populations and identify key knowledge gaps to inform future studies and interventions.

South Asia is home to diverse tribal populations facing persistent health inequities due to geographic isolation, socioeconomic disadvantage, and limited access to formal health systems. Cardiometabolic diseases are increasingly reported in these communities, where care involves biomedical services and traditional healing practices. The literature on the management of these diseases in and for tribal populations is fragmented across diverse study designs, health systems, and population groups, with no prior scoping review.

Studies on the management of 1 or more cardiometabolic disease-including hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases-in or for South Asian tribal populations will be considered. Any community or health care setting will be eligible, and all empirical study designs.

This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Fifteen databases will be comprehensively searched for published and gray literature, supplemented by Google Scholar searches, reference lists, and forward citation tracking. No date or language restrictions will be applied. Identified studies will be screened by 2 reviewers independently, and data extracted from included studies using a standardized tool. Extracted data will be analyzed using simple descriptive statistics and descriptive content analysis and presented using tables and figures.