Faculty Collaboration Database

Too much time? Time use and fertility-specific quality of life among men and women seeking specialty care for infertility. BMC Psychol 2019 Jul 09;7(1):45

Date

07/11/2019

Pubmed ID

31288855

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6617689

DOI

10.1186/s40359-019-0312-1

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85068877996 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   9 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are known gender differences in the impacts infertility has on quality of life and well-being. Less is known about how infertile couples spend time on fertility-related tasks and associations with quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether time spent on tasks related to family-building decision-making (including research, reflection, discussions with partner, discussions with others, and logistics) were associated with fertility-specific quality of life or anxiety among new patients.

METHODS: Couples or individuals (N = 156) with upcoming initial consultations with a reproductive specialist completed the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) tool, which produces a Core (total) score and four subscales: Emotional, Relational, Social, and Mind-Body. We developed questions to measure time spent in the previous 24 h on tasks related to family-building. We tested for differences by gender in time use (McNemar's Test) and used ordinary least squares regression to analyze the relationship between time use and FertiQoL scores.

RESULTS: In the week before a new consultation, a higher percentage of women reported time spent in the past 24 h in research, reflecting, discussion with others, and logistics compared to male partners (all p < 0.05). In adjusted models, more time spent reflecting was associated with worse FertiQoL scores for both men and women, as well as with higher anxiety for men. Time spent in discussion with others was associated with higher anxiety for women but better Social FertiQoL scores for men.

CONCLUSIONS: Couples seeking infertility consultation with a specialist reported spending time on tasks related to family-building before the initial visit. There were gender differences in the amount of time spent on these tasks, and time was associated with fertility-specific quality of life and anxiety.

Author List

Cusatis R, Fergestrom N, Cooper A, Schoyer KD, Kruper A, Sandlow J, Strawn E, Flynn KE

Authors

Rachel N. Cusatis PhD Assistant Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Kathryn Eve Flynn PhD Vice Chair, Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Abbey R. Kruper PsyD Associate Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Jay I. Sandlow MD Chair, Professor in the Urologic Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Katherine Schoyer MD Associate Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Anxiety
Female
Fertility
Fertilization in Vitro
Humans
Infertility
Male
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Patient Preference
Quality of Life
Stress, Psychological