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Quality‐of‐life predictors for men undergoing infertility treatment in Japan
Author(s) -
Asazawa Kyoko,
Jitsuzaki Mina,
Mori Akiko,
Ichikawa Tomohiko,
Shinozaki Katsuko,
Porter Sarah E.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
japan journal of nursing science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.363
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1742-7924
pISSN - 1742-7932
DOI - 10.1111/jjns.12248
Subject(s) - infertility , medicine , distress , quality of life (healthcare) , fertility , structural equation modeling , gynecology , demography , clinical psychology , pregnancy , population , statistics , environmental health , genetics , nursing , mathematics , sociology , biology
Aim To dentify the predictors of the quality of life (QOL) of infertile men who are undergoing infertility treatments in Japan and to create a QOL prediction model, with the main variables aimed at providing more adequate support to male patients. Methods This cross‐sectional study used the quantitative data that were collected from 321 returned self‐report questionnaires that had been distributed to the men of 411 couples who were undergoing fertility treatment. The following four scales were used to measure the main outcomes: FertiQoL, psychological distress, spousal support, and workplace support. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation modeling. Results The number of returned questionnaires was 321 (78.1%). The QOL that was measured by FertiQoL was significantly lower in those men who were diagnosed with male factor infertility than in the other male patients. The two significant predictors of QOL were: spousal support and the infertility period. The structural equation modeling revealed that the same factors were related to QOL. Conclusions Male factor infertility, less spousal support, and a longer period of infertility were associated with a poorer QOL of those men who were undergoing infertility treatment. These results suggest that focusing on infertility causes, the length of the infertility period, and the couples’ partnership during treatment is needed to provide full support to men who have been diagnosed with infertility.