Investigating the Impact of Structural Social Determinants of Health on Women’s Reproductive Behavior: A Systematic Review

aims: This study investigates how structural social determinants affect reproductive behavior worldwide. background: Reproductive behavior significantly influences global population dynamics. Understanding the relationship between demographic changes and social determinants of health is essential, particularly for women of reproductive age. This study investigates how structural social determinants affect reproductive behavior worldwide. objective: This study investigates how structural social determinants affect reproductive behavior worldwide. method: This review involved a comprehensive search of international databases, including Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, Magiran, State Inpatient Database (SID), and PubMed. The search utilized a range of keywords related to "social determinants of health" and "reproductive behavior," derived from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and Embase Subject Headings (Emtree). The timeframe for included studies was from January 2014 to November 2024. Studies were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, focusing solely on observational research published in Persian or English. Two independent researchers conducted quality assessments using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and extracted key findings. result: : Out of 15,867 reviewed articles, 83 met the criteria for inclusion. The analysis indicated a strong association between women's reproductive behavior and structural determinants of health. Notably, education level was the most frequently studied factor (42 studies), while income had the lowest representation (17 studies). conclusion: The study underscores the importance of structural social determinants, such as education, income, occupation, and cultural factors, in shaping reproductive behavior. Policymakers should consider these determinants in reproductive health planning to effectively implement population policies and programs. other: Keywords: Social determinants of health, Structural social determinants of health, Reproductive behavior, Childbearing