Exploring quality of life and perceived experiences among couples undergoing fertility treatment in western india: A mixed methodology

Abstract

Background: Diagnosis and related advanced fertility treatments are multifaceted and protracted with unstipulated outcomes. There remains a risk of bodily burden, psychological distress, furthermore may impact the quality of life among infertile couples. Objectives: Study was aimed to 1. assess the quality of life among infertile couples undergoing fertility treatment and compare it between respective partners. 2. explore in-depth their perceived experiences. Methods: Explanatory mixed method design with sequential data collection, nested sampling technique was adopted. Participants included 300 women & 300 men attending a fertility clinic at a tertiary hospital. 300 couples were administered FertiQoL questionnaire for quantitative data collection while qualitative data were collected by in-depth interview of eleven couples, and thematic analysis was done. Ethical compliance was maintained throughout the study. Analysis: Socio-demographic data revealed that the mean age of the wives and husbands were 31.17± 5.4 and 35.4± 5.6 years respectively. BMI was higher in 39.7 % of wives and 58.7 % of husbands. The mean of total FertiQoL score of 300 couples in Western India was 29.3 ± 9.2. Wives had significantly lesser scores than their husbands in emotional (p=0.007*), social (p= 0.001*) and environmental (p=0.013*) subscales. The total FertiQoL mean scores were significantly lower among wives (p=0.001*). Themes emerged from qualitative data as a societal burden, physical pain and distress, monetary crisis and inter-personal problems. Conclusion: Infertile couples in western India reported poor QoL. Wives have poorer FertiQoL scores as compared to their partners. Couples undergoing fertility treatment face various challenges jeopardising their quality of life.