Suicide prevention for international students: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION: The existing literature demonstrates that international students face a variety of stressors and barriers that can heighten the risk of suicide. However, up to now, no research has sought to summarise the available literature on the prevention strategies for suicide for international students in tertiary education. This document provides a scoping review protocol that aims to systematically chart and synthesise the published, unpublished and grey literature on the prevention strategies for suicide in the international student community. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The enhanced six-stage methodological framework for scoping reviews of Arksey and O’Malley will be used. Two main research questions guide the review: (1) What is the extent, range and nature of the evidence regarding suicide prevention for international students? and (2) What suicide prevention strategies are promising for targeting international students? Peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles, reports and policy documents will be eligible to be included in the review with no limits on publication date. Electronic searches of the CINAHL, ERIC, Medline, PsycInfo and ProQuest will be conducted to identify relevant academic publications. Grey literature searches will be undertaken on relevant databases as well as government and organisational websites. The reporting of the review will follow the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. Criteria for evidence inclusion and exclusion will be used during literature screening and mapping. Screening and data charting of the published and grey literature will be conducted by three reviewers. Relevant stakeholders and experts will be consulted regarding the findings and their input will be integrated into the final report. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal, conference presentations and consultations with relevant stakeholders in policy and professional settings. Ethical approval is not required for this review.