Reproductive Health Care in Catholic Facilities: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Health Services Research
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Catholic health care systems are expanding in the U.S.
• There is a need to understand reproductive health care provision in these facilities.
• Patient outcomes in Catholic versus non-Catholic settings require examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of reproductive health care provision and patient outcomes in U.S. Catholic health care facilities.
• To map the existing literature on this topic.
• To identify gaps in research regarding patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive search of five major databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov) was conducted.
• Studies published up to August 2018 were screened for inclusion if they involved primary research data from U.S.-based Catholic facilities.
• 2,906 studies were screened, with 27 ultimately included after rigorous review by independent researchers.

Main Results:

• The 27 included studies primarily focused on emergency contraception (9 studies) and other contraceptive/sterilization methods (7 studies).
• Few studies addressed family planning, natural family planning, ectopic pregnancy management, abortion care, miscarriage management, or infertility care.
• Only two studies had authors affiliated with Catholic hospitals, and just one reported patient outcomes, indicating a significant gap in outcome data.

Conclusions:

• Despite the growing presence of Catholic health care in the U.S., there is a paucity of research on reproductive health outcomes.
• Existing studies highlight restrictions in care and variability in service provision across Catholic facilities.
• Further research is critically needed to understand reproductive health care delivery and patient outcomes in Catholic health care settings.