Trend of Research on Psychological Support for Infertility in South Korea - A Review of Journals and Theses between 1988~2020 -

This study conducted a content analysis of infertility studies that have been done in South Korea with the purpose of finding the characteristics and trends of the existing studies. A total of 100 academic journals and master’s and doctoral theses published from 1988 to February 2020 was reviewed in terms of the basics, subject, topic, and method of the study. It is found that infertility studies have been consistently conducted and rapidly increased since 2010. The largest number of infertility studies was published in the field of nursing and a majority of the study subjects were infertile women who accounted for 88% of those studied. The topics were mostly related to psychology and adaptability, and 64% of the total studies examined used quantitative approach as their primary method of study. The analytic results of this study have been interpreted and discussed in terms of the policy implications that they imply in South Korea and the potential direction for future studies on infertility and infertility counseling.