Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Communication, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Health Care Women Int. 2023 Apr;44(4):378-396. doi: 10.1080/07399332.2023.2172412. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
Infertility rates are increasing internationally, and its treatment, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) imposes stress on women as primary patients. In this study, led by a researcher with lived experience in infertility, we seek to uncover the pathways that lead IVF patients toward peer support; mainly what precipitates patients' decisions to seek peer support and how they select their peer. Having interviewed 23 IVF patients, we found that prior to disclosing to a peer, women reflect on information about their condition and their personal support needs and reconcile support gaps within their couple and social circles as they gauge their personal motivation to seek peer support. The demands of IVF compel patients to gravitate toward other women with shared experience. Prior to disclosure, patients consider diverse points of connection as well as desirable peer traits including previous IVF experience, other common ground and full transparency in a peer's communication style.
不孕症的发病率在全球范围内呈上升趋势，其治疗方法体外受精（IVF）给主要患者女性带来了压力。在这项由一位有不孕经历的研究人员领导的研究中，我们试图揭示导致 IVF 患者寻求同伴支持的途径；主要是促使患者决定寻求同伴支持的因素以及他们如何选择同伴。通过对 23 名 IVF 患者的采访，我们发现，在向同伴透露之前，女性会思考有关自身状况和个人支持需求的信息，并在夫妻和社交圈中弥补支持差距，同时衡量自己寻求同伴支持的个人动机。IVF 的需求迫使患者倾向于与有共同经历的其他女性建立联系。在透露之前，患者会考虑各种联系点以及理想的同伴特征，包括之前的 IVF 经验、其他共同点以及同伴沟通方式的完全透明。
