Search

A search of the scientific literature was conducted and four electronic databases using the inclusion and exclusion criteria identified: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Hinari, and Google Scholar. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus and keyword terms will be used both in separation and in combination using Boolean operators like “OR” and “AND” to search for eligible articles to be included in the analysis.

The literature databases were searched using a list of keywords and synonyms. The search engine that used the key phrase “postpartum family planning service use” through phrases, synonyms, key words, and proximity searching searched for two or more words in close proximity to one another. As an example, the PubMed database was searched as follows. Search (“postpartum family planning service use” OR “postpartum family planning service utilization” OR “postpartum family planning service uptake” OR “post-natal family planning service use” OR “post-natal family planning service uptake” OR “post-natal family planning service utilization” AND Ethiopia). Advanced search was done by MeSH terms and all fields. The search for published and unpublished studies was conducted from January 1, 2011, to January 1, 2021, and all the articles published from January 1, 2011, to February 1, 2021, were included in this scoping review.