Stevenson Eleanor L, McEleny Kevin R, Moody Eilis, Bailey Donald E
Duke University, USA.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
Health Psychol Open. 2019 Aug 23;6(2):2055102919871647. doi: 10.1177/2055102919871647. eCollection 2019 Jul-Dec.
In this article, we sought to understand the adaptive challenges and work faced by men with male factor infertility. Using a prospective qualitative study in private (the United States) and academic (the United Kingdom) urology clinics, we recruited seven American and five British men with primary infertility after their urology consultation for male factor infertility between December 2015 and April 2017. Individual in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted shortly after male factor infertility urology consultation and then two additional interviews at about 3 and 6 months. We found three themes related to adaptive challenges faced during fertility treatment: avoidance (not disclosing, avoided social network), uncertainty (about ability to have a child, fertility-related information, and male factor infertility status), and affective symptoms (sadness, shock, disbelief, denial, about not achieving fatherhood, and poor outcomes). Four themes about adaptive work included focusing on goal (having clear, actionable steps; knowledge received from urologist; exhausted all options; focus on parenthood), support from partner (relationship and communication), support from health care team (provision of emotional support, increased comfort with staff over time, disclosure of knowing others with same condition), and acquired information (understanding issue, support from urologist, seeking information). We concluded that men with male factor infertility face adaptive challenges including avoidance, uncertainty, and affective symptoms. To manage during the treatment process, they use adaptive work including focusing on the goal, receiving support from their partner and health care team, and acquiring information. Although qualitative results cannot be generalized to larger populations, they might be applicable to men with male factor infertility during infertility treatment.
在本文中，我们试图了解男性因素不育症患者所面临的适应性挑战和工作情况。通过在美国（私立）和英国（学术性）泌尿外科诊所进行的一项前瞻性定性研究，我们招募了7名美国男性和5名英国男性，他们在2015年12月至2017年4月期间因男性因素不育症接受泌尿外科咨询后患有原发性不育症。在男性因素不育症泌尿外科咨询后不久进行了个体深入定性访谈，然后在大约3个月和6个月时又进行了两次访谈。我们发现了与生育治疗期间面临的适应性挑战相关的三个主题：回避（不透露、回避社交网络）、不确定性（关于生育能力、与生育相关的信息以及男性因素不育症状况）和情感症状（悲伤、震惊、怀疑、否认，关于无法成为父亲以及不良结果）。关于适应性工作的四个主题包括专注于目标（有明确、可操作的步骤；从泌尿科医生处获得的知识；用尽所有选择；专注于为人父母）、伴侣的支持（关系和沟通）、医疗团队的支持（提供情感支持、随着时间推移对工作人员的舒适度增加、透露认识其他患有相同病症的人）以及获取信息（理解问题、泌尿科医生的支持、寻求信息）。我们得出结论，男性因素不育症患者面临包括回避、不确定性和情感症状在内的适应性挑战。为了在治疗过程中进行应对，他们采用适应性工作，包括专注于目标、获得伴侣和医疗团队的支持以及获取信息。尽管定性结果不能推广到更大的人群，但它们可能适用于不育治疗期间的男性因素不育症患者。
