Sexual health and COVID-19: protocol for a scoping review.

Background:Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed and exacerbated existing socioeconomicand health inequities that disproportionately affect the sexual health and well-being of many populations, includingpeople of color, ethnic minority groups, women, and sexual and gender minority populations. Although there havebeen several reviews published on COVID-19 and health disparities across various populations, none has focused onsexual health. We plan to conduct a scoping review that seeks to fill several of the gaps in the current knowledgeof sexual health in the COVID-19 era.Methods:A scoping review focusing on sexual health and COVID-19 will be conducted. We will search (fromJanuary 2020 onwards) CINAHL, Africa-Wide Information, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, Gender StudiesDatabase, Gender Watch, Global Health, WHO Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease Database, WHO GlobalIndex Medicus, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Sociological Abstracts. Grey literature will be identified using Disaster Lit,Google Scholar, governmental websites, and clinical trials registries (e.g.,ClinicalTrial.gov, World Health Organization,International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial NumberRegistry). Study selection will conform to the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’Manual 2015 Methodology for JBIScoping Reviews. Only English language, original studies will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers willindependently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will beconducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g., frequencies) and qualitative (e.g., content and thematicanalysis) methods.Discussion:Original research is urgently needed to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 on sexual health. The plannedscoping review will help to address this gap.Systematic review registrations:Systematic Review Registration: Open Science Framework osf/io/PRX8EKeywords:COVID-19, Sexual health, Sexual minority, LGBT, Women