Search strategy for a study on “ Mobile Applications and Digital Platforms that support Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management and Care for Immigrants and Refugees: A Scoping Review”

A systematic search was conducted in [March 2025] across six electronic databases: PubMed, MEDLINE (via OVID), Embase (via OVID), Scopus, CINAHL (via EBSCO), and the Cochrane Library (via OVID). The search strategy was developed in collaboration with a medical librarian at Dalhousie University.
The search included three primary concepts: (1) type 2 diabetes, (2) immigrant and refugee populations, and (3) digital health interventions with multilingual and/or culturally tailored components. Free-text keywords and controlled vocabulary terms (e.g., MeSH headings for MEDLINE and PubMed) were used in combination.. Literature published in English between January 1, 2011, and March 1, 2025, was included. This time frame was selected due to the increasing development and uptake of smartphone applications starting in the early 2010s [53].
Reference lists of relevant systematic and scoping reviews were screened to identify additional studies not captured in the database searches. Experts in the field of immigrant and refugee health were also contacted to identify additional relevant articles or gray literature. All identified records were imported into Covidence software for deduplication and screening.