The mental health impacts of fuel poverty: a scoping review protocol

Abstract Objective To map the literature base of fuel poverty and mental health, including the operationalisation of fuel poverty and the explanations given for the link between fuel poverty and mental health. Introduction In a context of rising fuel costs affecting nations worldwide, more people are likely to find themselves in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is associated with detrimental physical health outcomes, but less is known about the association between fuel poverty and mental health. This review therefore aims to address this gap, by providing the first systematic identification and mapping of global research on fuel poverty and mental health. Inclusion Criteria We follow the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) approach to guide our inclusion criteria. Population: All children and adults (irrespective of age); Concept: the mental health impacts of fuel poverty; Context: Any country context. We will include any peer-reviewed empirical research and relevant grey literature that meet each of the PCC criteria. Methods We will search the following databases: Medline (Ovid), PubMed Central, APA PsychInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, Scopus, Embase (Ovid), Social Policy Practice (Ovid), Econlit (Ovid) and The Cochrane Library . We will also perform backwards citation searches and searches for grey literature. We will manage the results of the searches, screening and extraction process in the software Rayyan. The extraction domains will follow a template set out at the start of the extraction phase, and will be piloted, tailored and improved and then applied to each included record. A narrative synthesis of the extracted information from each paper will then be performed.