The range and nature of reproductive health research in the occupied Palestinian territory: a scoping review
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RESEARCH
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The range and nature of reproductive health research in the occupied Palestinian territory: a scoping review Aisha Shalash1* , Hasan M Alsalman2, Alaa Hamed3, Mai Abu Helo4, Rula Ghandour1, Loai Albarqouni5 and Niveen ME Abu Rmeileh1
Abstract Background: In order to set research priorities for reproductive health in the occupied Palestinian territory, it is vital to know what current research has been done in the field of reproductive health. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine the range and nature of reproductive health research in the occupied Palestinian territory and to identify research gaps in the existing literature. Methods: We searched four databases: EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, and Popline. We included studies that: (i) are published (with an abstract); (ii) relevant to reproductive health; (iii) Palestinians living in Palestine; (iv) participants over the age of 15 years; and (v) restricted to human research. Three independent reviewers screened title and abstracts, and extracted data from included articles. We conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results: Of 1025 titles and abstracts screened, 145 articles were included. 52 (36%) articles were conducted in community setting and 34 (24%) were conducted in hospitals. There were 5 (3%) experimental studies. 15 articles had more than one main theme; 160 subthemes overall were identified. The most frequently studied theme was labor and delivery (n = 19; 12%). One article discussed adolescent reproductive health and menopause while no articles discussed men’s reproductive health. Conclusions: 91% of the research conducted is observational. The focus of reproductive health research was to understand the topic, community and providers’ perceptions and knowledge. Articles related to the quality of services were limited. It is also important to research the reproductive health of women outside of reproductive age, men, and adolescents. Keywords: Scoping review, Reproductive health, Occupied Palestinian territory
Plain English summary To be able to better understand the different needs of the occupied Palestinian territory in regards to reproductive health research it is first important to take into consideration the research that has been published in hopes to reduce research waste. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the range and nature of reproductive health research in the occupied Palestinian territory and to identify research gaps in the existing literature. The best way was to do a scoping review to * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, oPt, P.O.Box. 14, Birzeit, Palestine Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
systematically search databases for published articles. Our search found 1388 articles. Out of these articles 145 were found to be relevant in the inclusion criteria of 1) were journal articles; (2) had an abstract; (3) about reproductive health; (4) about Palestinians living in Palestine; (5)
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