Experiences of Female Informal Traders with Access to Healthcare Services: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Background: The African continent has witnessed a notable shift in its economic landscape, marked by a significant rise in unemployment and a parallel surge in informal trading activities. In response to economic challenges, a substantial number of women within the informal trading sector in African countries have ventured beyond their home settings to engage in trading, aiming to alleviate poverty within their households. However, this pursuit is often characterized by conditions of poverty and socioeconomic difficulties. These women frequently lack access to fundamental healthcare and social protection services, and they operate within environments that are suboptimal for health and safety. Objective: The scoping review aims to synthesise the existing evidence related to the accessibility of healthcare services for women who engage in informal trade. Methods: This scoping review will adhere to the methodological guidelines outlined in the Joanna Briggs Institute framework, and the results will be presented in accordance with PRIMSA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Reviews). Eligibility criteria include studies focusing on women engaged in informal trading as the primary population of interest, articles written in English and French and originating from African countries. To achieve this, relevant scholarly literature will be identified through comprehensive keyword-based searches across several databases, including PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ProQuest, spanning from January 1995 to December 2025. The review's focus will be constrained to research evidence originating in Africa. All identified records will be collated and uploaded into EndNote X21 for management. Eligible studies will be screened by 2 independent reviewers, and disagreements will be solved through discussion and the intervention of a third reviewer. Data will be independently extracted by two reviewers using a validated data extraction form developed for this review and will be analyzed using content analysis. The findings will be presented in a narrative format. Results: This review will include studies related to experiences, challenges, and barriers to access to healthcare services by female informal traders in Africa. Specifically, studies on physical access (comprising facility availability and proximity), financial access (comprising care affordability), and cultural and social access (comprising healthcare system navigation competence) will be included. The database search strategy was completed in October 2025, and the review is expected to be completed by December 2025. Conclusions: The anticipated outcomes of this scoping review are poised to shed light on diverse factors that hinder access of female informal traders to healthcare services. Among these barriers are possible financial constraints that prevent women informal merchants from enrolling in the national health insurance plan. The findings will provide a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted challenges faced by female informal traders in accessing healthcare services. This will guide future strategies aiming at improving access to healthcare services and the overall well-being of female informal traders.