A qualitative study of Ottawa university students’ awareness, knowledge and perceptions of infertility, infertility risk factors and assisted reproductive technologies (ART)

Abstract

BackgroundAwareness of infertility risk factors is an essential first step to safeguard future fertility. Whereas several studies have examined university students’ awareness of female fertility and related risk factors, the topic of male infertility has not been well examined. The objective of this study was to assess young men and women’s awareness, knowledge and perceptions of infertility, male and female infertility risk factors and assisted reproductive technologies (ART).MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted in 2008 with a multi-ethnic sample of sixteen male and twenty-three female Ottawa university students, followed by qualitative data analysis to identify major themes. Interview topics included awareness of male and female infertility risk factors, infertility diagnosis/treatments and personal options in the event of future infertility.ResultsParticipants were generally familiar with infertility as a biomedical health problem, could identify sex-specific risk factors but overestimated fertility of women in their thirties and ART success rates. Reproductive health knowledge gaps and confusion of the physiological life-stage of menopause with infertility were apparent. Most participants would pursue in vitro fertilization or international adoption in the event of personal infertility. Some participants wished to use a ‘natural’ approach and were concerned with potential side effects of ART-related medications.ConclusionsThe general awareness of infertility in young adults is promising and supports the potential uptake for health promotion of fertility preservation. This study underscores the continued need for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and promotion for adolescents and young adults.

Awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of infertility, fertility assessment, and assisted reproductive technologies in the era of oocyte freezing among female and male university students

“…This observation is in accordance with the BInternational Fertility Decision-making Study^and other studies that observed a modest level of fertility knowledge of participants and that participants overestimated the age at which a women's ability to become pregnant first declines, the chance to become pregnant under optimal conditions and the chance of conception after IVF [12,18,19,25,27,33,34]. Our study might have overstated knowledge gaps for some questions.…”

“…Previous studies reported knowledge gaps concerning fertility awareness, parenting attitudes, and specific factors influencing fertility in students in Europe [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], Asia [18][19][20], Africa [21], Australia [22,23], Canada [24,25], and the USA [26,27]. These studies have investigated the knowledge of young people or students, but little is known about the attitude of students towards ART and oocyte freezing as well as the differences in knowledge about fertility in special groups, e.g., medical and non-medical students and between sexes.…”

Infertility-Related Risk Factors: A Systematic Review

“…It is being thought that severe military conflicts in Africa shorten the expected lifetime for more than 2 years. In general, WHO had calculated that 269 thousand people had died in 1999 due to the effect of wars and that loss of 8.44 million healthy years of life had occurred (2,3). Wars negatively affect the provision of health services.…”

“…The estimated fertility rate in Canada is 11.5% to 15.7%. One out of seven English couples suffers from fertility problems (3). The number of couples affected by infertility has increased from 42.0 million people (39.6 million people, 44.8 million people) in 1990 to 48.5 million people (45.0 million people, 52.6 million people) in 2010 (4).…”

“…Knowledge and awareness of fertility depends on education rather than personal fertility or motherhood and fatherhood experience. Health improving strategies started with educational interventions (3). Secondary infertility refers to a state in which pregnancy does not occur after one year (in some epidemiologic studies 2 years) of unprotected sexual intercourse despite at least one pregnancy in the past.…”