Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries
Infertility is a reproductive health concern that deserves attention, as reconfirmed by the 2018 report of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). However, governments and SRHR organisations tend to neglect infertility. We conducted a scoping review of e...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2022.2134629 |
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| author | Trudie Gerrits Hilde Kroes Steve Russell Floor van Rooij |
| author_facet | Trudie Gerrits Hilde Kroes Steve Russell Floor van Rooij |
| author_sort | Trudie Gerrits |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Infertility is a reproductive health concern that deserves attention, as reconfirmed by the 2018 report of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). However, governments and SRHR organisations tend to neglect infertility. We conducted a scoping review of existing interventions aiming to decrease the stigmatisation of infertility in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The review consisted of a combination of research methods: academic database (Embase, Socological abstracts, google scholar; resulting in 15 articles), Google and social media searches, and primary data collection (18 key informant interviews and 3 focus group discussions). The results distinguish between infertility stigma interventions targeted at intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural levels of stigma. The review shows that published studies on interventions tackling infertility stigmatisation in LMICs are rare. Nevertheless, we found several interventions at intra- and interpersonal levels aiming to support women and men to cope with and mitigate infertility stigmatisation (e.g. counselling, telephone hotlines, and support groups). A limited number of interventions addressed stigmatisation at a structural level (e.g. empowering infertile women to become financially independent). The review suggests that infertility destigmatisation interventions need to be implemented across all levels. Interventions geared to individuals experiencing infertility should include women and men and also be offered beyond the clinical setting; and interventions should also aim to combat stigmatising attitudes of family or community members. At the structural level, interventions could aim to empower women, reshape masculinities and improve access to and quality of comprehensive fertility care. Interventions should be undertaken by policymakers, professionals, activists, and others working on infertility in LMICs, and accompanied with evaluation research to assess their effectiveness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a11fc22307f44f73973014ff411cd52e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2641-0397 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| spelling | doaj-art-a11fc22307f44f73973014ff411cd52e2025-08-20T02:34:54ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSexual and Reproductive Health Matters2641-03972023-12-0131110.1080/26410397.2022.2134629Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countriesTrudie Gerrits0Hilde Kroes1Steve Russell2Floor van Rooij3Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsIndependent Consultant, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Eefde, NetherlandsAssociate Professor, School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKAssistant Professor, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsInfertility is a reproductive health concern that deserves attention, as reconfirmed by the 2018 report of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). However, governments and SRHR organisations tend to neglect infertility. We conducted a scoping review of existing interventions aiming to decrease the stigmatisation of infertility in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The review consisted of a combination of research methods: academic database (Embase, Socological abstracts, google scholar; resulting in 15 articles), Google and social media searches, and primary data collection (18 key informant interviews and 3 focus group discussions). The results distinguish between infertility stigma interventions targeted at intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural levels of stigma. The review shows that published studies on interventions tackling infertility stigmatisation in LMICs are rare. Nevertheless, we found several interventions at intra- and interpersonal levels aiming to support women and men to cope with and mitigate infertility stigmatisation (e.g. counselling, telephone hotlines, and support groups). A limited number of interventions addressed stigmatisation at a structural level (e.g. empowering infertile women to become financially independent). The review suggests that infertility destigmatisation interventions need to be implemented across all levels. Interventions geared to individuals experiencing infertility should include women and men and also be offered beyond the clinical setting; and interventions should also aim to combat stigmatising attitudes of family or community members. At the structural level, interventions could aim to empower women, reshape masculinities and improve access to and quality of comprehensive fertility care. Interventions should be undertaken by policymakers, professionals, activists, and others working on infertility in LMICs, and accompanied with evaluation research to assess their effectiveness.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2022.2134629infertilitystigmadestigmatisationawareness raisingcounsellingeducation interventions |
| spellingShingle | Trudie Gerrits Hilde Kroes Steve Russell Floor van Rooij Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters infertility stigma destigmatisation awareness raising counselling education interventions |
| title | Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries |
| title_full | Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries |
| title_fullStr | Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries |
| title_short | Breaking the silence around infertility: a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility-related gendered stigmatisation in low- and middle-income countries |
| title_sort | breaking the silence around infertility a scoping review of interventions addressing infertility related gendered stigmatisation in low and middle income countries |
| topic | infertility stigma destigmatisation awareness raising counselling education interventions |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2022.2134629 |
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