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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0BMJ Open

Public health surveillance systems involving Indigenous Peoples: a scoping review protocol to inform circumpolar mental health and wellness surveillance

  • Sara Ferwati1
  • Ivalu Katajavaara Seidler2
  • Terri Rodak3
  • Allison Crawford4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  2. 2Centre for Public Health in Greenland, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Region Syddanmark, Denmark
  3. 3CAMH Mental Health Sciences Library, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  4. 4Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  5. 5Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract

Introduction: Mental health and well-being are urgent priorities across circumpolar regions, where suicide and psychological distress contribute substantially to premature mortality and disability. Indigenous communities in Arctic and sub-Arctic settings continue to face profound inequities linked to colonisation and intergenerational trauma, while also advancing wellness frameworks grounded in cultural continuity, language, land and self-determination. Progress in mental health promotion and suicide prevention depends on timely, consistent and culturally relevant population-level information. Yet mental health surveillance remains fragmented, and the literature has not been comprehensively mapped to describe how public health surveillance systems are designed, governed, implemented and used in Indigenous contexts. This review aims to inform culturally grounded mental health and wellness surveillance in circumpolar Indigenous contexts. This will be achieved by mapping how public health surveillance systems involving Indigenous Peoples are designed, governed, implemented and used, and identifying transferable lessons for circumpolar monitoring.

Methods and analysis: This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Using a Population–Concept–Context framework, we will include peer-reviewed and grey literature published in the past 20 years (English and Scandinavian languages) describing public health surveillance systems implemented with, by or for Indigenous communities. This will cover the period of January 2006 to August 2026. Mental health, suicide, substance use and wellness-related systems will be prioritised. Searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase and APA PsycInfo, complemented by targeted grey literature searching of relevant organisational and government sources. A health sciences librarian will execute all database searches and export results for screening. One reviewer will conduct the grey literature searches, documenting search dates, sources and retrieval decisions. Two reviewers will independently screen all records retrieved and extract data using a structured charting tool capturing system characteristics, governance and data stewardship, ethics, implementation considerations, uses of surveillance information and circumpolar relevance. Findings will be summarised descriptively and synthesised using inductive content analysis to identify recurring constructs, patterns and evidence gaps. The review is anticipated to commence in August 2026 and to be completed by September 2027.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval is not required for this review of publicly available literature. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, presentations to relevant Indigenous and public health partners, and knowledge products tailored to circumpolar surveillance planning.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ferwati2026public,
  title = {{Public health surveillance systems involving Indigenous Peoples: a scoping review protocol to inform circumpolar mental health and wellness surveillance}},
  author = {Sara Ferwati and Ivalu Katajavaara Seidler and Terri Rodak and Allison Crawford},
  journal = {BMJ Open},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120742},
  url = {https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120742},
  note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Public health surveillance systems involving Indigenous Peoples: a scoping review protocol to inform circumpolar mental health and wellness surveillance
AU  - Sara Ferwati
AU  - Ivalu Katajavaara Seidler
AU  - Terri Rodak
AU  - Allison Crawford
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
JO  - BMJ Open
DO  - 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120742
UR  - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120742
AB  - Introduction: Mental health and well-being are urgent priorities across circumpolar regions, where suicide and psychological distress contribute substantially to premature mortality and disability. Indigenous communities in Arctic and sub-Arctic settings continue to face profound inequities linked to colonisation and intergenerational trauma, while also advancing wellness frameworks grounded in cultural continuity, language, land and self-determination. Progress in mental health promotion and suicide prevention depends on timely, consistent and culturally relevant population-level information. Yet mental health surveillance remains fragmented, and the literature has not been comprehensively mapped to describe how public health surveillance systems are designed, governed, implemented and used in Indigenous contexts. This review aims to inform culturally grounded mental health and wellness surveillance in circumpolar Indigenous contexts. This will be achieved by mapping how public health surveillance systems involving Indigenous Peoples are designed, governed, implemented and used, and identifying transferable lessons for circumpolar monitoring.  Methods and analysis: This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Using a Population–Concept–Context framework, we will include peer-reviewed and grey literature published in the past 20 years (English and Scandinavian languages) describing public health surveillance systems implemented with, by or for Indigenous communities. This will cover the period of January 2006 to August 2026. Mental health, suicide, substance use and wellness-related systems will be prioritised. Searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase and APA PsycInfo, complemented by targeted grey literature searching of relevant organisational and government sources. A health sciences librarian will execute all database searches and export results for screening. One reviewer will conduct the grey literature searches, documenting search dates, sources and retrieval decisions. Two reviewers will independently screen all records retrieved and extract data using a structured charting tool capturing system characteristics, governance and data stewardship, ethics, implementation considerations, uses of surveillance information and circumpolar relevance. Findings will be summarised descriptively and synthesised using inductive content analysis to identify recurring constructs, patterns and evidence gaps. The review is anticipated to commence in August 2026 and to be completed by September 2027.  Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval is not required for this review of publicly available literature. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, presentations to relevant Indigenous and public health partners, and knowledge products tailored to circumpolar surveillance planning.
SN  - 2044-6055
SN  - 2044-6055
ER  -