Mapping knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance among healthcare providers in Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Antibiotic resistance has been a global health challenge for decades now and has been increasingly on the rise, and developing countries are more vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of antibiotic resistance. Healthcare providers play an important role in antibiotic use and in addressing antibiotic resistance. This scoping review aims to map studies conducted on knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotic use and resistance among healthcare providers in Africa.Methods and analysis A scoping review searching for evidence on knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotic use and resistance among healthcare providers in Africa will be conducted. Relevant English literature will be identified from the year 2000 to 2024. Peer-reviewed literature will be searched from PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Scopus. The eligibility criteria will guide the study selection. Search terms: 'antibiotics', 'antibiotics resistance', 'knowledge', 'attitudes', 'perceptions', 'healthcare providers', Africa and related syntax will be used to identify literature. A stepwise methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley shall be the methodological basis of this scoping review. The methodology will be strengthened further by consulting the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, which will help to enhance the precision of the scoping study methodology. Three reviewers will be engaged to do initial title screening, abstract screening and full-text screening of the literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews will be used to report the results of this study.Methods and analysis A scoping review searching for evidence on knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotic use and resistance among healthcare providers in Africa will be conducted. Relevant English literature will be identified from the year 2000 to 2024. Peer-reviewed literature will be searched from PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Scopus. The eligibility criteria will guide the study selection. Search terms: 'antibiotics', 'antibiotics resistance', 'knowledge', 'attitudes', 'perceptions', 'healthcare providers', Africa and related syntax will be used to identify literature. A stepwise methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley shall be the methodological basis of this scoping review. The methodology will be strengthened further by consulting the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, which will help to enhance the precision of the scoping study methodology. Three reviewers will be engaged to do initial title screening, abstract screening and full-text screening of the literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews will be used to report the results of this study.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required for this review since no primary data will be collected. The findings of this study will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed scoping review paper once the data collection and analysis are complete.Trial registration number The protocol is registered with the Open Science Forum (registration DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KMQP5).