Boston IVF, Domar Center for Mind/Body Health, Waltham, MA and Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA.
Clinica EUGIN Barcelona, Spain.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Dec;43(6):1126-1136. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.09.002. Epub 2021 Sep 11.
What are the key drivers and barriers for infertile patients and their partners to see an infertility specialist and initiate treatment?
An online, international, 30-minute quantitative survey collected data from 1944 respondents from nine countries. Respondents were infertile patients (n = 1037) or partners of infertile patients (n = 907; but not necessarily partners of the patient sample), at different stages of the treatment journey.
The overall average times were 3.2 years to receiving a medical infertility diagnosis, 2.0 years attempting to achieve pregnancy without assistance before treatment, and 1.6 years of treatment before successful respondents achieved pregnancy. The most common driver for considering treatment after a consultation (n = 1025) was an equal desire within the couple to have a child (40.8%). Of the partners (n = 356), 29.8% reported that transparency of information from healthcare professionals about treatment expectations was important. A significantly higher proportion of respondents seeking treatment reported that healthcare professionals offered supportive services (61.2%) and mental health services (62.0%), than of the 207 respondents who did not seek treatment (32.4% and 36.7%, respectively; P < 0.001). Perceived cost was the most commonly reported barrier for respondents not seeking a consultation (37.5% of n = 352) or treatment (42.0% of n = 207). Of the 95 respondents who discontinued treatment, 34.7% discontinued due to the financial impact.
Respondents reported significant delays to seeking treatment, probably negatively impacting the chances of achieving pregnancy. Motivational coherence within couples was a key driver and cost of treatment was the main barrier. Reported supportive service offerings by healthcare professionals were significantly associated with continuation of the treatment journey.
不孕患者及其伴侣寻求不孕专家并开始治疗的主要驱动因素和障碍是什么？
一项在线的、国际性的、30 分钟的定量调查从九个国家的 1944 名受访者那里收集了数据。受访者是不孕患者（n=1037）或不孕患者的伴侣（n=907；但不一定是患者样本的伴侣），处于治疗过程的不同阶段。
总体而言，从接受医学不孕诊断到接受治疗前尝试自然怀孕的平均时间为 3.2 年，2.0 年，在成功怀孕的受访者接受治疗前 1.6 年。在咨询后考虑治疗的最常见驱动因素（n=1025）是夫妻双方都有生育孩子的同等愿望（40.8%）。在伴侣中（n=356），29.8%的人表示医疗保健专业人员提供关于治疗预期的透明信息很重要。寻求治疗的受访者报告说，医疗保健专业人员提供支持性服务（61.2%）和心理健康服务（62.0%）的比例明显高于 207 名未寻求治疗的受访者（分别为 32.4%和 36.7%；P<0.001）。感知成本是未寻求咨询（37.5%，n=352）或治疗（42.0%，n=207）的受访者报告的最常见障碍。在 95 名停止治疗的受访者中，34.7%因经济影响而停止治疗。
受访者报告说，他们寻求治疗的时间明显延迟，这可能会降低他们怀孕的机会。夫妻之间的动机一致性是一个关键的驱动因素，而治疗费用是主要的障碍。医疗保健专业人员提供的报告支持服务与继续治疗之旅显著相关。
