Type 2 diabetes is a growing global health challenge that requires effective prevention strategies. Public health and community-based approaches play an essential role in reaching vulnerable populations and addressing broader determinants of health. This protocol outlines a scoping review aimed at systematically mapping the existing evidence on lifestyle-based diabetes prevention interventions implemented in public health and community contexts.

A systematic literature search will be conducted to identify relevant studies published in English or German from 1 January 2014 onwards. The following databases will be searched: PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL (via EBSCO), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (via OVID) and ClinicalTrials.gov. Relevant websites and grey literature sources will be searched to identify further eligible studies. (Cluster-)randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials and clinical trials will be included. These must examine nutrition-based, physical activity-based or lifestyle-based interventions aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes in healthy adults or individuals with pre-diabetes, implemented in public health or community settings. Case reports and studies involving medical therapies or pharmacological interventions will be excluded. The literature search started in May 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of December 2025.

As this scoping review is based on the secondary analysis of publicly available data, no ethical approval is required. Our dissemination strategy includes publication in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at academic conferences and targeted dissemination to relevant interest holders.

This project has been registered at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/zafg5/), as PROSPERO does not accept registrations for scoping reviews.