Mapping evidence of Universal Health Coverage in the world: a protocol for a scoping review
Abstract Background Universal health coverage (UHC) is critical for improving global health and socioeconomic development. Monitoring and evaluating UHC's progress has also been suggested as an additional intervention to improve its road map. Globally, the concept of UHC is being desperately used by health care delivery systems and research institutions using a variety of indicators. More evidence is required to know what is known and the gaps are in the UHC literature that helps to identify research problems. The review will map the available researches of UHC from around the world. Methods The scoping review will be reported using the checklist The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). For studies reporting data on UHC and its dimensions, systematic searches will be conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the United Nations, World Health Organization, and World Bank repositories. To present the review findings, a narrative synthesis will be performed. Discussion UHC is a cornerstone to achieve the health goal of UN’s by the end of 2030. The mapping of available literature towards UHC will provide evidence that will help in the designing and implementation of health policy, health research and health care services. Conclusions A protocol for a global scoping review of UHC research is described. This scoping review will add to the body of knowledge about UHC research. The review will identify UHC research questions for which primary research or a systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted. This is the first review of UHC to be conducted. This review will prioritize UHC research questions in relation to the sustainable development goals.