Stanford, J. B. (2016). Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health: Data Are Essential Where Disciplines Meet and Ideologies Conflict. Frontiers in Public Health, 4, 27. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00027
Stanford JB. Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health: Data Are Essential Where Disciplines Meet and Ideologies Conflict. Front Public Health. 2016;4:27. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00027
Stanford, Joseph B. "Population, Reproductive, and Sexual Health: Data Are Essential Where Disciplines Meet and Ideologies Conflict." Frontiers in Public Health, vol. 4, 2016, pp. 27.
For EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley:
Open access
No open license is recorded for this paper. Reuse terms are set by the publisher.
An editorial says reproductive health needs data from opposing views
A 2016 editorial by Joseph Stanford of the University of Utah says debates about reproductive health need data from scientists who start with different beliefs. The editorial opens a journal section. The piece reports no new study results. Its examples cover emergency contraception and infertility.
Study at a glance, 2016 editorial: An editorial says reproductive health debates need data from opposing views. Source: Stanford JB, 2016, PMID 27014671.
Key Findings
The editorial names two needs: data that address questions from different underlying assumptions, and respectful conversation among scientists, clinicians, and policy makers who come from different backgrounds.
The author writes that extensive interventional research shows emergency contraception has not decreased unintended pregnancy or induced abortion. He adds that levonorgestrel emergency contraception is much less effective than first proposed.
The author writes that the preponderance of recent evidence on levonorgestrel given after sex does not support blocking implantation as a significant mode of action. He says some data gaps remain.
On infertility, the editorial sets two question sets side by side: how to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes, and how to find the underlying causes of infertility and correct them.
The author commends oppositional collaboration: opposed scientists jointly produce data all agree is as objective as possible. He says values may stay unchanged, but the data and mutual understanding can improve.
Interpretation
This is a 2016 editorial, an opinion piece by one author. The author argues that progress in reproductive health comes from data that scientists with differing starting assumptions can all accept as objective, even when their values stay unchanged. He points to emergency contraception and infertility as examples where this kind of collaboration is needed. The editorial calls for more research built on that model.
RRM Context
The editorial asks how the causes of infertility can be found and corrected. Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM) asks that question. IVF asks how to improve a procedure that goes around the cause. The editorial cites an Irish family doctor report on infertility outcomes.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
The flourishing of the individual human person, the health of human society, and the ecological well being of planet earth are inextricably connected with the issues of human population, sexuality, and reproduction. Many academic disciplines have strong interests in these issues, approaching them from different perspectives and with different emphases. However, these areas of study are also infused with controversy and strong ideological positions arising from cultural, religious, political, and social traditions that sometimes clash with each other. To address these issues, two things are needed: (1) data that address questions from different underlying assumptions; (2) open and respectful discussion among scientists, clinicians, and policy makers who have different backgrounds, narrative frameworks, and conceptual perspectives (1). The new Section on Population, Reproductive and Sexual Health, Frontiers in Public Health will contribute constructively to these critical needs.
By this author
Diagnostic Criteria and Classification · Terminology and Definitions
03r0ha626 
