ArticleInternational journal of population data science2025
The nature and extent of the literature on linked reproductive health datasets in the UK: a scoping review.
Article in International journal of population data science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Data linkage methodologies are increasingly being utilised across research, but there is currently no evidence on the extent and nature of studies that have used linked reproductive health data. The objective of this scoping review is to identify UK studies that use reproductive health data linkage, to improve our understanding of how data linkage could be used for policy, practice, and research in reproductive health. Methods: We conducted a scoping review using a systematic search in five databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, MIDIRS, and PSYCINFO to identify literature published in English between January 2000 - April 2024. Following duplication removal, piloting, and screening of titles/abstracts, screening of full texts was conducted. Publications using reproductive health data linkage among UK participants of reproductive age were included. Data was extracted from included articles to capture details relating to study characteristics and what, how, and why data was linked. Findings: Of the 7,291 identified studies, 272 studies were included in the review. Most studies using data linkage answered questions around reproductive cancer and maternal and child health, whilst only a few studies focused on abortion, contraception, menopause, and preconception health. Several nationally agreed reproductive health indicators did not appear in any included study. Information on sample sociodemographic characteristics, such as ethnicity and deprivation, was often unreported, limiting the identification of health inequalities. Many different datasets were linked (n = 155) with routine health data sources, such as hospital episode statistics (HES), being the most frequently linked. Interpretation: There is a growing body of research using linked UK reproductive health data, with gaps in which reproductive health domains are covered and which sample characteristics are reported. Further efforts to create a comprehensive, linked reproductive health data resource with robust linkage methods would enable us to fill data gaps, examine inequalities, and explore reproductive health trajectories. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Reproductive Health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.