Protocol for a scoping review of the evidence concerning the unique needs and experiences of Orthodox Jewish women and their partners using maternity services in the UK

Background Orthodox Jews follow the Jewish law, Halacha, that determines most daily activities and behaviours. Halacha restrictions and insular lifestyle of groups within the Orthodox community, led to cultural barriers when interacting with NHS maternity services in the UK. Aims and objectives this protocol describes a scoping review that will aim to explore the needs of Orthodox Jews when interacting with maternity services, their experiences in the UK, to what extend has this topic been studied, and identify any gaps that need further research. Rationale the literature on this topic is scarce. There is an urgent need to understand the unique needs of these communities in order to make NHS maternity services accessible to all.

the scoping review will follow Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for scoping reviews. We will utilise a broad search strategy that will include terms such as Orthodox Jewish, Haredi, Halacha, Needs, Experiences and Maternity Services. We will search the grey literature and databases such as OpenGrey, PubMed, Web of Science, CINHAL, SocINDEX and ProQuest. The search will be an iterative process that will be led by the search itself and the PPI work done in parallel. Inclusion criteria using the terms above, we will include English papers from all OECD courtiers, applying no restrictions on publication year. Expected outcomes mapping the literature will allow a better understanding of the needs and experiences of the Orthodox community when interacting with NHS maternity services in the UK and will lead the next stage of the project that aims to make these services more culturally sensitive. This project is part of the main author’s NIHR (National Institute for Health and care Research) fellowship. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement Yes Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Not Applicable The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: N/A I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Not Applicable I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Not Applicable I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Not Applicable Data Availability No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. All relevant data from this study will be made available upon study completion.