JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Universities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are increasingly seeking to Indigenise and decolonise health professional curricula. These processes require more than the inclusion of discrete Indigenous content; they involve structural and pedagogical transformation that recognises Indigenous knowledge authority, leadership, governance, and relationships with community and Country. Although relevant scholarship and institutional guidance are growing, the approaches used across health disciplines have not been comprehensively mapped, particularly in relation to Indigenous governance, co-design, workforce development, and sustainable institutional change.

Objective:

This scoping review aims to identify and map approaches used to Indigenise and/or decolonise health curricula in universities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. It will examine curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment; Indigenous governance, leadership and co-design; workforce development and cultural safety; and reported outcomes, enabling factors, barriers, and evidence gaps.

Methods:

The review will be conducted in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and reported using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist. Eligibility will be structured using the Population, Concept, and Context framework. Searches will include MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, A+ Education, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Informit, supplemented by structured grey literature, citation, and organisational website searches. Sources published in English from January 2000 to December 2025 will be considered. Two reviewers will independently screen records and chart data using Covidence, with disputes resolved by consensus or third-reviewer adjudication. Findings will be synthesised through qualitative descriptive synthesis using iterative coding. Indigenous governance, relational accountability, reflexivity, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles will guide decision-making and interpretation throughout the review.

Results:

Protocol development commenced in February 2026 alongside preliminary searching and consultation with an academic librarian. These preliminary searches informed the development of the search strategy and confirmed the feasibility of the review. The search strategy was refined and finalised in August 2026, and the protocol manuscript is planned for submission to JMIR Research Protocols in September 2026. Formal database searching will commence following protocol submission, with title and abstract screening expected to begin in October 2026. The scoping review is anticipated to be completed by February 2027, with submission of the completed review manuscript planned for March 2027.

Conclusions:

This review will provide a systematic account of how Indigenous knowledges, leadership, governance, and pedagogies have informed health curriculum transformation in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. It is expected to support Indigenous-led, culturally safe, and sustainable curriculum reform and identify priorities for research, policy, and institutional action