Mapping expert-judged aspects of validation for Brazilian wound assessment measures: a scoping review protocol

This project presents a scoping review protocol aimed at mapping which aspects are considered by expert health professionals when validating Brazilian national instruments for wound assessment across clinical care settings. The review is grounded in the need for standardized, valid, and context-appropriate wound assessment tools in Brazil. Although multiple instruments are available, evidence on how experts judge and prioritize validation criteria remains fragmented. This review will synthesize how specialists evaluate dimensions such as item relevance and clarity, representativeness, feasibility, applicability across care levels, reliability, interpretability, and related validation properties. The protocol follows the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and reporting recommendations aligned with PRISMA-ScR. Eligibility is structured using the PCC framework: (P) expert health professionals acting as judges/validators; (C) validation of Brazilian national wound assessment instruments; and (C) Brazilian healthcare settings (primary care, outpatient clinics, hospitals, and home care). Sources in Portuguese, English, and Spanish published from 2020 onward will be considered, including peer-reviewed studies, reviews, theses/dissertations, and relevant grey literature. Searches will be conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, with complementary grey literature strategies and reference list screening. Study selection and data extraction will be performed by two independent reviewers using piloted forms. Data will be synthesized descriptively through tables and narrative mapping. In line with scoping review methodology, critical appraisal will not be performed. The expected contribution is a transparent evidence map of expert-judged validation aspects for Brazilian wound assessment instruments, identifying methodological patterns, evidence gaps, and priorities for future research and instrument refinement.