Literature on Racial and Ethnic Disparities

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# Packages
library(ggplot2)

# Data
tuesdata <- tidytuesdayR::tt_load("2025-02-25")
article_dat <- tuesdata$article_dat

# Wrangling
study_data <- article_dat |>
  dplyr::mutate(study_type = dplyr::if_else(
    study_type != "RCT",
    stringr::str_to_lower(study_type),
    "randomised controlled trial"
  )) |>
  dplyr::group_by(year, study_type) |>
  dplyr::summarise(count = dplyr::n()) |>
  dplyr::mutate(
    year.count = sum(count),
    prop = count / sum(count)
  ) |>
  dplyr::ungroup() |>
  dplyr::mutate(year = factor(year)) |>
  tidyr::drop_na()
study_levels <- study_data |>
  dplyr::summarise(count = sum(count), .by = study_type) |>
  dplyr::arrange(count) |>
  dplyr::pull(study_type)
plot_data <- study_data |>
  dplyr::mutate(
    study_type = factor(study_type, levels = study_levels)
  )

# Colours
col_palette <- rcartocolor::carto_pal(
  n = length(study_levels) + 1,
  name = "Vivid"
)[1:length(study_levels)]
names(col_palette) <- study_levels
bg_col <- "#002D3D"

# Plot
ggplot(data = plot_data) +
  geom_col(
    mapping = aes(
      x = year,
      y = prop,
      width = year.count,
      fill = study_type
    ),
    position = "fill",
    colour = bg_col,
    linewidth = 0.5
  ) +
  facet_grid(year ~ "1",
    scales = "free_y", space = "free_y",
    switch = "y"
  ) +
  scale_fill_manual(values = col_palette) +
  scale_y_continuous(expand = expansion(0, 0)) +
  coord_flip() +
  theme_void() +
  theme(
    legend.position = "none",
    plot.margin = margin(10, 10, 10, 10),
    plot.background = element_rect(fill = bg_col, colour = bg_col),
    panel.spacing = unit(0, "lines"),
    strip.background = element_blank(),
    strip.text = element_blank()
  )

It’s important to critically examine how racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive medicine are framed, measured, and discussed in the academic literature. Data on studies published in the eight highest impact peer-reviewed Ob/Gyn journals from January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2023 that investigate racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive medicine as can be studied to understand the representation more fully. The data were collected as part of a review article Racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive medicine in the United States: a narrative review of contemporary high-quality evidence published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in January 2025.

This abstract mosaic plot (or Marimekko chart) shows the types of epidemiological studies used in these publications. Each row of the chart represents a year, between 2010 and 2023, with the height of the rows representing the number of publications in that year. The width of the bars within each row shows the percentage of each study type used in publications in a given year. Most of the publications use retrospective cohort studies (shown in dark green).

Examples of data art created by students at Amherst College for this data set can be found at: katcorr.github.io/this-art-is-HARD. Their work inspired this piece.

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