Gender-based violence and absent fathers: a scoping review protocol.
Gender-based violence (GBV) and absent fathers are two epidemics that affect women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the understanding of the complex links between GBV and absent fathers is currently inadequate. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of documented evidence that links GBV and absent fathers as well as identifies areas that require systematic review and where more primary research is needed.



The search strategy for this scoping review study will involve electronic databases including: Academic Search Premier, Ingenta, Kluwer Online, PsycARTICLES (EBSCO), PsycINFO (EBSCO), Social Work Abstracts and Sociological Collection. The studies will be mapped in 2 stages: stage 1 will map studies descriptively by focus and method; stage 2 will involve additional inclusion criteria, quality assessment and data extraction undertaken by two reviewers in parallel. A thematic analysis of the studies will be carried out to extract relevant outcomes using NVIVO.



We anticipate finding a large number of studies on GBV diagnostic interventions in sub-Saharan Africa which, once summarised, will be useful to guide future research. The protocol for the scoping review has been registered in PROSPERO.



The study will be disseminated electronically and in print. It will also be presented to conferences related to GBV, Father Connections and Children's Health.



CRD42015022094.
Gender and Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Yandisa
Y
Sikweyiya
School of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mzikazi
M
Nduna
Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Nelisiwe
N
Khuzwayo
School of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Andile
A
Mthombeni
Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Tivani Phosa
TP
Mashamba-Thompson
D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D000074386:Gender-Based Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D000098584:Scoping Reviews as Topic
EPIDEMIOLOGY; PRIMARY CARE