Understanding the beliefs and attitudes towards mental health problems held by Muslim communities and acceptability of cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment: systematic review and thematic synthesis protocol.

Introduction Many barriers prevent Muslims’ accessing mental health services, the aim of this systematic review is to gain an understanding regarding these barriers and consider how they vary across different Muslim communities resident in different countries. Methods and analysis Systematic review of PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase and Index Islamicus databases for studies published in English in addition to the Saudi Digital Library for studies published in Arabic. The review will include quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies published in peer-review journals since 1980. Methodological quality and risk of bias of included papers will be critically appraised independently according to the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Thematic synthesis will be used to extract outcome and analyse data from studies included in the review. Ethics and dissemination There are considered to be no ethical issues. Findings will be disseminated in both English and Arabic to clinicians and researchers via journal publication and conference presentation(s). Trial registration number CRD42020192854.