Assessment of Quality of Life in Infertility Treated Women in Poland

Artur Wdowiak, Agnieszka Anusiewicz, Grzegorz Bakalczuk, Dorota Raczkiewicz, Paula Janczyk and Marta Makara-Studzińska
Additional contact information
Artur Wdowiak: Diagnostic Techniques Unit, Medical University of Lublin, 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Anusiewicz: Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4, 20-954 Lublin, Poland
Grzegorz Bakalczuk: International Scientific Association for the Support and Development of Medical Technologies, 20-012 Lublin, Poland
Dorota Raczkiewicz: Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, Department of Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Paula Janczyk: Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-501 Kraków, Poland
Marta Makara-Studzińska: Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-501 Kraków, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) of infertility treated women as it can affect the effectiveness of therapy. This cross-sectional study was conducted with Abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), Fertility Quality of Life tool (FertiQoL) and an author’s questionnaire. The study included 1200 women treated for infertility without the use of assisted reproductive technology (non-ART), intrauterine insemination (IUI), or in vitro fertilization (IVF). The control group was 100 healthy women who had children. The time to conceive did not significantly differ between study groups and was 3.1–3.6 years, on average. The quality of life in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire data significantly differed between study groups and the control (physical domain p < 0.001, psychological p = 0.009; social p = 0.004; environmental p < 0.001). A significant effect was found in 4 FertiQoL subscales: emotional, biological, partnership, and attitude towards treatment; depending on the method of treatment. Women who received non-ART treatment evaluated their QoL in significantly more negative terms in these 4 subscales, compared to those treated with IVF. The quality of life depends on reproductive problems, methods of infertility treatment, age, place of residence, and education level. Prolongation of the duration of treatment unfavourably affects the quality of life. The quality of life of women undergoing infertility treatment differs according to the mode of work and having children from a previous relationship.

Keywords: FertiQoL; WHOQOL-BREF; assisted reproductive technologies; infertility; quality of life; intrauterine insemination; in vitro fertilization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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