Journal of International Reproductive Health/Family Planning ›› 2024, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (3): 190-194.doi: 10.12280/gjszjk.20240039

• Original Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis on the Status Quo and Influencing Factors of Medical Treatment Delay in Infertility Patients Undergoing IVF-ET

ZHANG Ai-yu, LUAN Cui-yu(), WANG Dong-mei, JIANG Shuai   

  1. Reproductive Medicine Center,Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai 264001, Shandong Province, China (ZHANG Ai-yu, WANG Dong-mei, JIANG Shuai); Out-Patient Department, Yantai Yeda Hospital, Yantai 265599, Shandong Province, China (LUAN Cui-yu)
  • Received:2024-01-17 Published:2024-05-15 Online:2024-05-14
  • Contact: LUAN Cui-yu, E-mail: 259412376@qq.com

Abstract:

Objective: To investigate the status quo of medical treatment delay in female infertility patients undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and analyze the influencing factors. Methods: With the method of objective sampling, 203 female infertility patients who received IVF-ET for the first time at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Yantaishan Hospital from January to December 2022 were selected. According to the median time between the diagnosis of infertility and the first visit to IVF-ET, the subjects were divided into two groups: the medical treatment delay group and the non-medical treatment delay group. General information questionnaire, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) and the Perceived Barriers to Health Care-seeking Decision in Chinese patients (PBHSD-C) were used to investigate. The differences of indexes between the two groups were compared, and the influencing factors of medical treatment delay were analyzed by Logistic regression. Results: The median interval between the diagnosis of infertility and the first treatment with IVF-ET in 203 patients was 18 months, and the quartile (P25, P75) was (6, 42) months, among which 121 patients (59.61%) were delayed in seeking medical treatment, and 82 patients were not delayed. There were statistically significant differences in the cultural level of couples, marital status of couples, monthly family income, BIPQ total score, PSSS total score, and PBHSD-C total score between two groups (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that an increase in the BIPQ total score (OR=0.833, P=0.001) and PSSS (OR=0.887, P=0.002) was the protective factors for the delay in seeking medical treatment; an increase in the PBHSD-C total score (OR=1.754, P<0.001) was a risk factor for the delay in seeking medical treatment. Conclusions: The IVF-ET infertility patients generally have a high incidence of delay in seeking medical treatment. Patients with low disease perception, low perceived social support and high perceived disorder of medical treatment behavior are more likely to delay medical treatment. Medical staff should pay attention to the high-risk groups who are delayed in seeking medical treatment, improve their correct cognition and understanding of diseases, improve the level of social support, reduce the behavioral factors that hinder medical treatment, and promote timely medical treatment through the personalized medical treatment behavior guidance and universal pre-pregnancy health examination.

Key words: Fertilization in vitro, Embryo transfer, Infertility, female, Root cause analysis, Medical treatment delay