Contextualization of Clinical Guidelines for Fertility-Related Issues for Couples and Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review

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@article{1716778,
      author = {Arowosola, Foluke Ebunoye, Prof. Akpor, Oluwaseyi Abiodun, Dr. Ogunsiji, Olayide, Dr. Fadare, Risika Idowu},
      title = {Contextualization of Clinical Guidelines for Fertility-Related Issues for Couples and Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {10},
      pages = {2650-2656},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1716778.pdf},
      abstract = {Infertility affects approximately 48 million couples globally, with significant psychosocial and economic consequences. Although clinical guidelines for fertility-related issues exist (e.g., NICE, ASRM, WHO), their contextualization adaptation to local cultural, socioeconomic, health system, and legal settings remains poorly mapped. This scoping review maps the existing evidence on contextualization of fertility guidelines for couples and healthcare providers, identifies implementation gaps, and proposes future research directions. Following Arksey and O'Malley's framework, we searched PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and African Journals Online (2015 2025). Thirty nine studies met inclusion criteria. Key contextualization barriers identified: cultural/religious norms (74% of studies), limited specialist workforce (68%), out of pocket costs (62%), lack of translation/local adaptation (54%), and provider knowledge gaps (48%). Facilitators included: task sharing models (reported in 38% of studies), community based education (34%), and mHealth decision aids (28%). Only 21% of studies evaluated the effectiveness of contextualized guidelines on clinical outcomes (pregnancy, treatment adherence), and only 15% assessed couple reported outcomes (satisfaction, psychological distress). Major gaps include absence of validated frameworks for fertility guideline contextualization in low resource settings, underrepresentation of low  and middle income countries (LMICs), and lack of implementation science studies. This review highlights the need for co designed, context sensitive fertility guidelines that address both medical and psychosocial dimensions.},
      keywords = {Fertility, Clinical Guidelines, Contextualization, Couples, Healthcare Providers, Scoping Review, Implementation Science},
      month = {April},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I10-1716778}
  }