Sustainable procurement practices in sub-Saharan African health systems: a scoping review protocol

Background: Sustainable procurement (SP) has emerged as an integral part of national and global efforts to address sustainable development challenges and the growing impact of climate change on human health, especially in resource-constrained health systems like sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We are conducting a scoping review to explore empirical studies on sustainable procurement practices in SSA health systems, identify evidence gaps and inform future research directions. Methods: The review will follow the JBI methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guidelines for conducting scoping reviews. The following electronic databases will be searched for evidence: Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. The search will be limited to peer-reviewed empirical studies published in the English language with no restrictions on publication date and study design. We will include only empirical studies, i.e., original research studies offering firsthand insights into SP practices in healthcare. Two reviewers will independently screen titles/abstracts and full texts based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the review. Disagreements will be resolved through a discussion among the review team. Study characteristics will be summarised in tabular format along with a thematic analysis and narrative summary of the key SP practices reported in the empirical literature. Discussion: The proposed review will provide valuable practical insights that can enhance policy-makers’ and healthcare practitioners’ understanding of emerging SP practices and initiatives. It will also provide directions for future research, thus guiding scholars towards areas of priority research attention.