Amplifying Women’s Voices Through Citizen Science
Y. Golumbic* and
Y.B. Ben-David*: corresponding author
Published on:
June 30, 2026
Abstract
Fertility care represents a critical area where systemic inequities intersect with deeply personal experiences. While access to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is shaped by geography, socioeconomic status, and cultural norms, even women with full access to care often report feelings of isolation and a lack of agency. The “true costs” of ART, including extensive physical, emotional, and financial burdens, are often overlooked by the biomedical goal of conception. In this paper, we argue for a shift toward the everyday realities of navigating fertility care, situating women not merely as patients but as central actors in shaping and interpreting their reproductive journeys. We propose a novel citizen science approach, structured around three dimensions – 1. lived physical experiences, 2. emotional experiences, and 3. women’s recommendations, to uncover inequities and better understand how fertility care systems function in practice. This framework provides a systematic yet holistic understanding of access and experience, while generating actionable insights. This approach aims to democratize reproductive health knowledge, amplify women’s voices, and inform more inclusive policies, while offering a transferable model for public engagement in addressing public health challenges where personal experience and systemic inequities intersect.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.524.0028
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