Perishable food supply chain management and food access in remote Indigenous communities of high-income countries: a systematic scoping review protocol.

backgroundIndigenous populations in high-income countries (HICs) experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity, particularly in remote regions where high costs, poor quality, and limited variety limit access to perishable foods. Fragile perishable food supply chains (PFSCs) further compound these vulnerabilities. Although existing reviews have examined nutrition policies, socioeconomic interventions, and retail food environments, they have largely overlooked the operational and logistical challenges associated with perishable food supply chain management (PFSCM). Moreover, no review has systematically mapped the reported practices in the literature to address these challenges across interconnected supply chain levels, including procurement, transportation, distribution, and retail. To address these gaps, this systematic scoping literature review (SSLR) will employ a food access framework to synthesize the challenges and practices of PFSCM in remote Indigenous communities across 17 HICs.

methodsThis SSLR will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Protocols (PRISMA-P). A three-step JBI search strategy will be used to identify relevant published and unpublished evidence, including grey literature. Databases will include IEEE, MEDLINE (Ovid), ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest), CAB Abstracts, and Web of Science (Core Collection). Grey literature will be sourced from the Grey Source Index, Web of Conferences, government publications, OpenDOAR, OpenAIRE, and SSRN. Sources will be included if published in English between 1996 and 2024 and if they address PFSCM (phenomenon), perishable food access (concept), and remote Indigenous communities in HICs (context). Data will be extracted using a structured framework. Descriptive statistics will summarize study characteristics, and thematic analysis will be conducted to identify patterns in PFSCM challenges and reported practices. NVivo will support data management, and results will be reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. DISCUSSION: This review will provide the first systematic scoping synthesis of PFSCM challenges and reported practices in remote Indigenous communities across HICs. By integrating a food access framework with a systems-oriented supply chain perspective, the review will extend prior work that has primarily focused on retail or policy interventions and limited geographic settings. The resulting evidence map and conceptual framework will support future research, policy dialogue, and context-sensitive planning to strengthen perishable food systems and food access in remote Indigenous settings. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open science framework registration: https://osf.io/kqpvn.