Reporting of RACE in Australian brain and mental health research: protocol for a scoping review and diversity audit

Introduction

The underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in health research in multicultural societies can lead to limited understanding of health challenges and conditions that they face. This leads to interventions that may have reduced efficacy or undocumented adverse effects on certain populations. Focusing on Australian research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, stroke, and dementia in 2020-2024, this scoping review and diversity audit aims to: 1.) evaluate reporting of variables related to RACE (race; ancestry; country of birth; country of residence and migration status; culture, including language and religion; and ethnicity) and 2.) examine representation of participants from various backgrounds.

Methods and analysis

This scoping review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses – Scoping Review Extension (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Six scientific and medical databases (Medline, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched for relevant articles published from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. The search retrieved 21,927 articles, and after removing duplicates via EndNote, 10,033 articles were uploaded to Covidence for screening. All titles, abstracts, and full texts will be screened in independent duplicate. Relevant data will be extracted using a template focused on diversity and demographic-related information. Findings will be reported through narrative synthesis.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval is not required for this review. Research findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication in a medical or health journal, academic and practitioner networks, and conference presentations.

Strengths and limitations

• This study will be the first to simultaneously and systematically examine racial/ethnic diversity in Australian research on four brain and mental health conditions. Relevant articles will be identified using a comprehensive search strategy that aims to capture a wide range of studies.

• The scoping review will employ a rigorous approach, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines and screening all studies in independent duplicate for inter-reviewer reliability.

• The synthesis is expected to identify how race, ethnicity, and related variables are reported in Australian brain and mental health research and how different minority groups are represented. Insights will inform the next phase of a research program that aims to develop pragmatic guidelines for increasing minority representation in Australian brain and mental health research.

• A limitation is that only articles in the past five years will be reviewed.