A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Examining the Relationship Between Reported Racism and Health and Wellbeing for Children and Adolescents

Priest, N.; Doery, K.; Truong, M.; Guo, S.; Trenerry, B.; Karlsen, S.; Kelly, Y.; Paradies, Y.

Introduction: There is a growing body of research showing associations between experiences of racism and poor health and wellbeing outcomes for children and adolescents. The aim of this review protocol is to update the first systematic review conducted by Priest et al. 2013, including a meta-analysis of findings. Based on previous empirical data, it is anticipated that child and adolescent health will be negatively impacted by racism. This review will provide updated evidence of effect sizes across outcomes and identify moderators and mediators of relationships. Methods and analysis: This systematic review and meta-analysis will include studies that explore associations between experiences of racism and racial dissemination with health outcomes of children and adolescents aged 0-24 years of age from any racial/ethnic/cultural group. Outcome measures include general health and wellbeing, physical health, mental health, healthcare utilisation and health behaviours. Exposure measures include self-reported and proxy reported personal experiences of racism and reported experiences of vicarious racism. The authors will conduct a comprehensive search of studies from the earliest time available to September 2020. All relevant studies will be screened with data extraction, quality appraisal and publication bias conducted independently by at least two authors. Ethics and Dissemination: This review will provide evidence for future research within the field and help to support policy and practice development. Results from this systematic review and meta-analysis will be widely disseminated to both academic and non-academic audiences. Ethics approval is not required as this is a review of existing empirical findings. Key Words: Protocol, Systematic-Review, Meta-analysis, Racism, Child Health.