Traditional management of female infertility in Africa: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction: Infertility adversely affects the sexual reproductive health and overall quality of life of people. Recent estimates show that about one in six people (both men and women) experience infertility in their lifetime. This scoping review will, therefore, map the existing evidence on traditional management of female infertility in Africa including the effectiveness of the traditional healthcare systems, to inform policy and practice.

Methods: The scoping review will be guided by the Arksey and O'Malley framework in conjunction with the Joanna Briggs Institute updated methodological guidance for scoping reviews. A search strategy will be developed, which will target the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, Google Scholar and Africa-Wide Information including grey literature. The screening of titles, abstracts and full text will be done by two independent reviewers. Data will be extracted, analysed numerically and thematically. The reporting of the scoping review will use the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist.

Ethics and dissemination: This scoping review will not require ethical approval as this is secondary analysis of peer-reviewed articles. The findings of the review will be disseminated on various platforms including conferences, meetings to key stakeholders and in a peer-reviewed journal for wider sharing.

Keywords: complementary medicine; herbal medicine; subfertility.