Sexual and reproductive health literacy among East Asian women: a scoping review protocol using an intersectionality lens.

Abstract

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is essential to women's overall well-being, and promoting SRH depends largely on improving SRH literacy. However, existing research is predominantly situated in Western contexts and often lacks intersectional perspectives, resulting in the under-representation of the SRH experience of non-Western women, particularly those from East Asia. The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the current literature on SRH literacy among East Asian women, focusing on how they access, understand, appraise and apply SRH information and services. To achieve this, we will examine how SRH literacy is conceptualised and addressed across healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion; map the characteristics of existing evidence and the population subgroups represented; compare patterns across different populations; and identify gaps, including overlooked or under-represented groups. This review will be structured according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommended framework. Keywords related to 'sexual health', 'reproductive health', 'health literacy' and 'East Asian women' will be used. A comprehensive search will be performed from database inception to August 2026 across English-language, Chinese-language, Japanese-language and Korean-language electronic databases. Screening and study selection will be conducted by reviewers who are proficient in the language of the records being assessed. Data extraction and reporting will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. The findings will be synthesised and reported using the PAGER framework (Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations). As this scoping review involves the analysis of publicly available data, ethics approval is not required. The findings are expected to identify gaps in research on SRH literacy and inform the future development of tailored SRH promotion interventions among women especially in East Asia. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. The protocol of this review has been registered within the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/f8r69) on 23 March 2026.