Effectiveness of Nursing Counseling on Coping and Depression in Women Undergoing in Vitro Fertilization

Abstract

The purpose of present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of counseling provided by nurses on depression and coping strategies of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (N=67). Of the 84 women who were interviewed, 30 were accepted as a comparison group, and 37 were included in the study group. The study group women were given counseling in addition to routine nursing care services, including group education and individual interviews about treatment and coping strategies. The nurses also provided support by accompanying the women during the invasive procedures. The Beck Depression Inventory and Jalowiec's Coping Strategies Form were used for measurements. All the women were using emotional coping and had moderate depression prior to the study. There was no statistically significant difference between the comparison and study groups before or after the counseling with respect to depression and coping strategies. Parameters to evaluate the efficacy of counseling are discussed.

The Effect of the Collaborative Infertility Counseling Model on Coping Strategies in Infertile Women Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization: a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The mean difference between the 2 groups was not statistically significant in terms of the emotion-focused coping strategies. This finding is congruent with the findings of the studies conducted by Karlsen et al and Gurhan et al in which no statistically significant difference was found between intervention and control groups (24,26).…”

“…As Gurhun et al reported, infertility was a stressful event and IVF was perceived as a positive challenge with positive effects on infertile women (24). Before the intervention, the women in the two groups used positive reappraisal more than other coping strategies.…”

“…Gurhan et al and Van Zyle et al provided the counseling program to infertile women undergoing IVF and reported no improvements in the use of the problem-focused coping strategies (24,25). Karlsen et al also used a group counseling method to educate women with diabetes and found no statistically significant difference between the groups in the application of the problem-focused coping strategies (26).…”

“…Several studies have indicated that females experience more stress than males (1,24). However, after the determination of the role of men in infertility via diagnostic procedures and undergoing related treatments, the burden of infertility on women may be reduced.…”

“…Before the intervention, the women in the two groups used positive reappraisal more than other coping strategies. This indicated that the infertile women who accepted costly and painful treatments and participated in the counseling sessions, sought treatment and planned for actively changing their current status (24).…”