ArticleBMJ open2021
Exploring experiences of infertility amongst women and men in low-income and middle-income countries: protocol for a qualitative systematic review.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- More than a medical condition: a theoretical exploration of infertility's hidden burden.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- 'It's about time': policymakers' and health practitioners' perspectives on implementing fertility care in the Gambian health system.BMC health services research · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionInfertility is increasingly recognised as a global public health issue for women and men that merits further investigation to support policy and programming. While research in high-income settings has examined the consequences of infertility and access to services, there has been limited synthesis of how individuals experience infertility in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This protocol describes a systematic review that will synthesise qualitative evidence on experiences of infertility among women and men in LMICs. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The review will follow the Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research (ENTREQ) guidelines for reporting on qualitative evidence syntheses. The study team will search for published literature in PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus and PsycINFO databases and review available grey literature. Using Covidence software, two independent reviewers will conduct title and abstract screening based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by full-text reviews and extraction by a larger team. Quality will be appraised using an adapted version of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme guidelines. We will conduct thematic synthesis to characterise individual experiences and related factors at the individual, interpersonal, community and health system levels. We will develop a conceptual framework to describe evidence on experiences of infertility in LMICs and to help inform interventions across settings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol has been internally approved as exempt by the Institutional Review Board of the Population Council, as it does not involve contact with human subjects or personally identifying data. Results of the review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will be used to inform future infertility research and programming in LMICs. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021227742.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.