Challenges Faced by Parents in Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background: Online child sexual abuse and exploitation have become a global issue affecting the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Unlike traditional forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, online sexual abuse presents unique challenges due to the complexity of the situations involved. Parents play a crucial role as the first line of defense in preventing these incidents, yet the barriers they encounter have not been thoroughly explored. Objective: The objective of the systematic review is to identify the challenges parents face in preventing online child sexual abuse, to explore the factors that contribute to those challenges, and to highlight gaps in knowledge and practice regarding how to best support them. Methods: A comprehensive search will be conducted in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), HealthSTAR (Ovid), Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Scopus (Elsevier), and the Cochrane Library (Wiley). The strategy will be developed with a research librarian. Regarding inclusion criteria, this review will include primary research studies (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods) that examine the perspectives of parents or primary caregivers of children and adolescents on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) prevention. Studies must focus on parental attitudes, fears, perceptions, or challenges related to OCSEA. Only studies published in English from 2018 onward will be considered. Studies that do not report on parental perspectives will be excluded. Two reviewers will independently screen studies and extract data, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Findings will be narratively synthesized, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework. Results: The search strategy has been developed in collaboration with a health sciences librarian and followed PRISMA-Search guidelines. Database searches, screening, and analysis are planned to commence in August, 2025. The findings of the review are anticipated to be ready by Febuary 2026 and will be presented following the PRISMA reporting standards. Conclusions: This protocol aims to structure a comprehensive and transparent process for a systematic review, which is expected to contribute to a better understanding of parental challenges in preventing OCSEA and provide insights into the types of supportive resources they need to combat OCSEA. This information will contribute to the development of comprehensive strategies that equip parents with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively safeguard their children in the digital landscape.