Experiences and views of women, children, and professionals regarding second-hand smoke exposure prevention in Middle Eastern countries: a qualitative systematic review protocol

Objective: This systematic review aims to identify and explore the experiences and views regarding secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among women and children in the home, workplace, school, personal vehicles, and public places from the perspectives of (i) women, (ii) children and (iii) professionals in Middle Eastern countries.Introduction: Exposure to SHS is a significant public health problem globally, particularly Middle Eastern countries. Whilst many Middle Eastern countries have implemented tobacco control programs and have legislation that bans smoking in public places, the legislation is not always comprehensively implemented or enforced. Therefore, women and children continue to be exposed to SHS in public and private settings. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider studies that include the views and experiences of any of the following three groups: (i) women (including pregnant women and mothers), (ii) children (primary and secondary school age), and (iii) professionals (including health professionals and policy makers), regarding the prevention of SHS exposure in women and children in Middle Eastern countries. Methods: Six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus) and three sources of grey literature will be searched for eligible studies. Databases will be searched from their inception dates and no language restrictions will be applied. Two reviewers will independently screen studies, extract data and assess methodological quality of included studies, following JBI systematic review guidelines. The JBI process of meta-aggregation will be used to identify categories and synthesize findings. The ConQual approach will be used to assess confidence in the findings