Mapping international research output within ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of assisted reproductive technologies

Research about ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is infuenced by cultural and value-based perspectives. It impacts regulations, funding, and clinical practice, and shapes the perception of ART in society. We analyze trends in the global literature on ELSI of ART between 1999 and 2019. As most output is produced by North America, Western Europe, and Australia, we focus on international research, i.e., academic articles studying a diferent country than that of the corresponding author. Methods The corpus, extracted from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, includes 7714 articles, of which 1260 involved international research. Analysis is based on titles, abstracts and keywords, classifcation into ART felds and Topic Modeling, the countries of corresponding author, and countries mentioned in abstracts. Results An absolute increase in the number of international studies, and their relative proportion. Trends of decentralization are apparent, yet geographic centralization remains, which refects an unequal distribution of research funds across countries and may result in fndings that do not refect global diversity of norms and values. Preference for studying conceptual challenges through philosophical analysis, and for felds that concern only a portion of ART cycles. Less attention was dedicated to economic analysis and barriers to access, or to knowledge of and attitudes. International studies provide an opportunity to expand and diversify the scope of ELSI research. Conclusion We call on the research community to promote international collaborations, focus on less explored regions, and divert more attention to questions of cost, access, knowledge, and attitude

Mapping ethical, legal, & social implications (ELSI) of assisted reproductive technologies

Purpose A signifcant portion of the research on assisted reproductive technologies explores ethical, legal, and social implications. It has an impact on social perceptions, the evolution of norms of clinical practices, regulations and public funding. This paper reviews and maps the geographical distribution to test the hypothesis of geographical concentration and classifes the output by felds and topics. Methods We queried PubMed, Scopus and the Web of Science for documents published between 1999 and 2019, excluding clinical trials and medical case reports. Documents were analyzed according to their titles, abstracts and keywords and were classifed to assisted reproductive felds and by Topic Modeling. We analyzed geographic distribution. Results Research output increased nearly tenfold. We show a trend towards decentralization of research, although at a slower rate compared with clinical assisted reproduction research. While the U.S. and the U.K.’s share has dropped, North America and Western Europe are still responsible for more than 70%, while China and Japan had limited participation in the global discussion. Fertility preservation and surrogacy have emerged as the most researched categories, while research about genetics was less prominent. Conclusions We call to enrich researchers’ perspectives by addressing local issues in ways that are tailored to local cultural values, social and economic contexts, and diferently structured healthcare systems. Researchers from wealthy centers should conduct international research, focusing on less explored regions and topics. More research on fnancial issues and access is required, especially regarding regions with limited public fundin