{
  "abstract": "Introduction Agriculture remains the primary source of livelihood for India’s rural population, particularly among vulnerable communities including tribal communities, marginal farmers and agricultural labourers. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent a significant but under-researched occupational health burden in this population. This scoping review will systematically examine the existing research on musculoskeletal hazards in agriculture across rural India. This will help identify knowledge gaps and provide suggestions for establishing comprehensive occupational health strategies and primary healthcare interventions, particularly for high-risk groups at risk of poor health outcomes.Methods and analysis The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines and the Arksey and O’Malley framework will be used to investigate MSDs in rural agricultural communities in India. The PEO (Population, Exposure, Outcome) framework will be used to decide which studies will be included. Relevant Medical Subject Headings terms and keywords will be used for comprehensive literature searches across multiple databases, including MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, Web of Science and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature as well as grey literature sources. Articles written in English and published between January 2010 and December 2026 on farming-related MSDs among adults (18 years and above) in the rural population of India will be included. For data extraction, the study characteristics, demographic features of the population, farming techniques employed, the occurrence and classification of MSDs, risk factors, interventions and the accessibility of healthcare services will be considered. Thereafter, the results will undergo narrative synthesis and thematic analysis to identify research gaps, regional disparities and the policy and practical implications of the research.Ethics and dissemination No primary data will be collected from human participants in this review, so no formal ethical approval is required. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations and stakeholder briefings targeted at agricultural health policymakers, rural healthcare providers and public health educators in India.Trial registration number https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9YZ6M.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India",
        "Junior Research Fellow, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research Deemed to be University, Wardha, Maharashtra, India"
      ],
      "name": "Gurjeet Kaur"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Neurophysiotherapy, Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India",
        "Neuroscience Physiotherapy, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research Deemed to be University, Wardha, Maharashtra, India"
      ],
      "name": "Irshad Qureshi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Biomedical Engineering, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research Deemed to be University, Wardha, Maharashtra, India"
      ],
      "name": "Ashutosh Bagde"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Agriculture-related musculoskeletal disorders among farming populations in rural India: focus on vulnerable communities – protocol for a scoping review",
  "uid": "5d239d90-2022-5d0f-949a-978d8b4cb906"
}