Mapping Digital Self-Management Interventions for People with Chronic Gynaecological and Pelvic Pain Conditions: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to map and synthesise existing evidence of digital self-management interventions for individuals living with chronic gynaecological or pelvic pain conditions. The review will identify intervention types, components, outcomes, and implementation factors. Introduction: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common, multifactorial condition that severely affects the quality of life, emotional wellbeing, and functioning of women and individuals presumed female at birth. CPP may result from various gynaecological, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal conditions, often with overlapping symptoms. As many of these conditions lack curative treatment, long-term self-management is essential. Self-management interventions empower individuals to manage symptoms, make decisions, and maintain psychological and social health. Although digital tools are increasingly being used to support self-management, no review to date has comprehensively mapped online self-management interventions for this population. A prior systematic review by O’Hara et al. (2019)1 focused exclusively on endometriosis and the concept of self-management, however there were few interventions and this review pre-dates key digital advances and theoretical developments of the self-management concept. Inclusion criteria: This review will include studies involving women, girls, transgender, and gender-diverse individuals with chronic gynaecological or pelvic pain conditions. Interventions must be delivered digitally and align with recognised definitions of self-management. Studies must report on empirical data using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods designs. Reviews, commentaries, and in-person-only interventions will be excluded. Methods: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest will be searched with no date limits (English only). Screening and data extraction will be conducted by two reviewers. Results will be presented descriptively in tables and narrative form, categorised by intervention type, outcomes, and implementation factors.