Online peer-to-peer health communities for individuals affected by chronic kidney disease: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and describe research exploring online peer-to-peer health communities for individuals affected by chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: The proliferation of online peer-to-peer health communities has created new opportunities for individuals affected by chronic kidney disease to come together for mutual social, emotional, and informational support.

Inclusion criteria: This scoping review will include qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, and evidence synthesis studies, as well as gray literature relating to online peer-to-peer health communities for individuals affected by chronic kidney disease. The search will not be limited by language, time frame, geographic location, or publication date.

Methods: This review will be undertaken in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. The following databases will be searched: Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Embase (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Web of Science. Gray literature will be searched via MedNar, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. After duplicates have been removed, 2 reviewers will independently screen the title, abstract, and full text of the search results. Data will be extracted using a modified data extraction tool as per JBI, and presented in tabular format, accompanied by a narrative summary describing how the findings relate to the scoping review questions.

Registration on open science framework: https://osf.io/kfj9v.