Protocol for a systematic narrative synthesis of children and adolescents’ experiences of vertigo, mild-to-moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus

Sparrow, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5329-9048 (2025) Protocol for a systematic narrative synthesis of children and adolescents’ experiences of vertigo, mild-to-moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus. Octopus.

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Abstract

The underlying philosophy of this research is qualitative, interpretative, and relativist, seeking to understand individual, contextual lived experiences (Lincoln et al., 2018). A narrative synthesis therefore will be used to create a convincing story of the data (Popay et al., 2006). A qualitative approach, bringing together qualitative studies, facilitates a deeper understanding of findings and the experiences explored (Flemming & Noyes, 2021). Furthermore, narratives allow different types of research to be discussed together, opening this review to quantitative data as well (Dixon-Woods et al., 2005). The review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist (PRISMA-ScR) (Tricco et al., 2018). A number of guidelines were considered (e.g. Flemming & Noyes, 2021), and although written for scoping reviews rather than narrative synthesis, the PRISMA-ScR is the most relevant for a review that will cover different research types like qualitative thematic analysis and quantitative statistical analysis. The PAGER framework will also be used to assist in reporting clear, useful findings (Bradbury-Jones et al., 2022). Data is organised by pattern, advances in knowledge, gaps, evidence for practice, and research recommendations. As preliminary searches suggest that the areas under review are currently under-researched, the PAGER framework will help make clear both the findings that will support the research objectives, and the need for further work.