Basic Social and Psychοlogical Determinants of Infertile Couples Health in Greece during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 as an illness and a pandemic has had important repercussions at the individual, family, and social levels. We aimed to investigate basic social and psychological determinants of health in infertile couples in Greece during the Covid-19 pandemic such as the fear of Covid, the social relationships and the social support. Methods:The survey was conducted in a Greek private Fertility Center in Heraklion of Crete from April of 2022 to May 2022 after institutional ethics approval. A total of 75 infertile persons (men and women) participated in the study. Data were obtained through a questionnaire with socio-demographic characteristics of infertile couples, a Covid-19 fear assessment questionnaire (FCV-19 Scale) and one aimed at approximating participants' social relationships and social support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Results:The research showed that the more a) the social difficulties that an infertile person may face in trying to communicate and the b) the lack of support for his problem, the greater the fear of Covid-19. At the same time, the endurance of the social relations that he maintained until then, either with his family of with his friendly environment is decreasing. In addition, when the resilience of social relationships is strengthened, the fear of the virus is reduced, communication with other people is improved and the lack of support for the health problem in the infertile woman is reduced. Conclusion:That fear of Covid-19, the social relationships and the social support constitute basic determinants of infertile couple's health affecting their physical, mental and social health and finally their decision to obtain a child.