PAPER: Reproductive knowledge and patient education needs among Indonesian women infertility patients attending three fertility clinics

Reproductive knowledge and patient education needs among Indonesian women infertility patients attending three fertility clinics



Reference:

Armstrong, G., BENNETT, L., Pangestu, M., Bennett, L. R., Bell, L., Armstrong, G., & ... Hinting, A. (n.d). Reproductive knowledge and patient education needs among Indonesian women infertility patients attending three fertility clinics. Patient Education And Counseling, 98(3), 364-369.


Objective: This study investigated the reproductive knowledge and patient education needs of 212 female Indonesian infertility patients. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to September 2011 by married women, 18 to 45 years old, seeking infertility care from clinics in Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar. Participants were literate, the sample was highly educated, predominantly urban and primarily middle class or elite. Results: Infertility consultants were cited as the most useful source of information by 65% of respondents, 94% understood that infertility results from male and female factors, 84% could distinguish between infertility and sterility, and 70% could identify their fertility window. However, demand for further knowledge of reproduction and infertility was expressed by 87%. Patients' knowledge of the causes and treatment of infertility was extremely poor. Two key causes of infertility, advanced age and untreated sexually transmissible infections, were not named. Only 19% of patients had received written information. Conclusion: The study revealed the need for expanded infertility patient education among women patients accessing fertility care in Indonesian clinics. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Highlights

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We surveyed 212 Indonesian women infertility patients to explore knowledge sources and levels.

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Basic knowledge of reproduction and infertility was high, and OBSGYN were the preferred source.

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Knowledge of causes and treatment of infertility was extremely poor.

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High demand for further patient education was determined, as were patient priorities.

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Expanded patient education will require extended consultations and a standard curriculum.

4.2. Conclusion

The findings of this study highlight the imperative of providing comprehensive patient education for Indonesian infertility patients. The demand for further knowledge by 87% of the sample, and their poor levels of knowledge about the causes and treatment of infertility, underline this need. The fact that respondents indicated OBSGYN to be the most useful source of information points to the importance of maximizing opportunities for patient education within infertility consultations. This will require extending the length of standard fertility consultations to allow adequate time for education. Expanded patient education should incorporate respondents’ priorities such as: the causes of infertility, how to conceive and how to improve fertility. STIs, smoking and age should be emphasized as major causes of infertility. Insights for developing appropriate printed education materials include: the use of lay language and the clear explication of medical terms, a greater utilization of images, better explanations of diagnosis protocols and treatment procedures, and more extensive coverage of infertility related knowledge. The statistically significant differences in access to information sources and levels of knowledge among patients indicates that patient education needs are likely to differ according to patients’ level of schooling, which should be taken into account in curricula development and methods of patient education.

4.3. Practice implications

In order to ensure that comprehensive patient education becomes universal in Indonesian infertility care, a standard infertility patient education curriculum should be developed and piloted. When such a curriculum has been evaluated and validated, it should become compulsory within the medical education of fertility consultants. The provision of comprehensive patient education should also become requisite within infertility clinic practice guidelines.