BACKGROUND Identifying and addressing research gaps on the implementation of free maternal healthcare financing policies and the quality of service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is essential in ensuring continuous patronage of the services by clients and sustainability of the policies to meet the intended goals. The proposed scoping review is aimed at mapping evidence on free maternal healthcare financing and quality of care in SSA. METHODS Arksey and O'Malley's framework, Levac and colleagues' recommendations, and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines will be used to guide the proposed study. A complete keyword search for relevant studies presenting evidence on free maternal healthcare financing and perceived quality of care among women in SSA will be performed in EBSCOhost, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and SCOPUS. Relevant grey literature from university repositories and international organisations such as WHO and government websites, and the reference lists of included studies will be additionally searched. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) will be used to present the results of the proposed scoping review. NVivo version 11 software package will be employed to extract the relevant outcomes from the included studies using content thematic analysis. Quality appraisal of the included studies for this proposed study will be performed utilising the latest mixed methods appraisal tool. DISCUSSION It is anticipated that the results of the proposed study will inform future research and reveal evidence-based information to address potential quality of care issues that may arise because of free maternal healthcare policy implementation in some SSA countries. The proposed study will also be useful to other SSA countries planning to implement free maternal health policy, as they will be able to draw useful lessons to guide them through the process.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲免费孕产妇保健筹资和护理质量的证据图：系统的范围界定审查协议。

背景技术查明和解决撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）实施免费产妇保健融资政策和服务质量方面的研究差距，对于确保客户不断提供服务以及政策的可持续性以实现预期目标至关重要。拟议的范围审查旨在针对SSA中有关免费孕产妇保健筹资和护理质量的证据进行映射。方法将使用Arksey和O'Malley的框架，Levac及其同事的建议以及Joanna Briggs研究所的指南来指导拟议的研究。将在EBSCOhost，PubMed，Web of Science，Google Scholar和SCOPUS中对相关研究进行完整的关键词搜索，以提供有关免费的孕产妇保健筹资和SSA妇女所感知的护理质量的证据。来自大学资源库和国际组织（例如，世卫组织和政府网站）的相关灰色文献，以及包括在内的研究的参考文献清单将另外进行搜索。系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目：范围回顾的扩展（PRISMA-ScR）将用于提出拟议范围界定回顾的结果。将使用NVivo版本11软件包使用内容主题分析从所包括的研究中提取相关结果。将使用最新的混合方法评估工具对本研究的纳入研究进行质量评估。讨论预计拟议研究的结果将为将来的研究提供参考，并揭示基于证据的信息，以解决由于某些SSA国家免费实施孕产妇保健政策而可能引起的潜在护理质量问题。拟议的研究对其他计划实施免费孕产妇保健政策的撒哈拉以南非洲国家也将是有用的，因为它们将能够汲取有益的经验教训，以指导他们完成这一过程。