Training & Support for Fertility Clinics & Staff
Aim
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Improve the Psycho-social and emotional experience of care for patients before, during and after treatment.
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Reduce emotional burden of Infertility treatments
BENEFITS TO CLINICS AND PATIENTS
MANAGING PATIENTS'
EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Infertility and treatment can be extremely emotionally difficult. Yet, many clinics fail to address patients’ emotional needs within their treatment pathway .
A lack of patient-centered care has been one of patients’ main non-medical reasons for changing fertility clinics [1]
STANDARD FOR HOLISTIC PATIENT
SUPPORT
The International standard for patient support policy for fertility clinics includes counselling and other psych-socio-emotional support pre, during and post treatment cycles - which helps fertility professionals reduce patients' physical and emotional burden [2]
Regulatory bodies in UK and US have acknowledged its important and included counselling as well as psycho-social support by all staff a recommended intervention in their codes of practice for Infertility clinics [5]
[1] Van Empel IW, Dancet EA, Koolman XxH, Nelen WL, Stolk EA, Sermeus W, D’Hooghe TM, Kremer JA. Physicians underestimate the importance of patient-centredness to patients. Hum Reprod 2011;26:584–93
[2] Pook and Krause, 2005; Cousinaeau and Domar, 2007; Peterson et al., 2007; Verhaak aet al., 2007; Malik and Coulsonm 2008; Peterso aet al., 2009; Johansson et al., 2010
[3] E.A.F. Dancet , I.W.H. Van Empel , P. Rober, W.L.D.M. Nelen , J.A.M. Kremer, and T.M. D’Hooghe. Patient-centred infertility care. Hum Reprod (2011) 26
[4] Van den Broeck U, Holvoet L, Enzlin P, Bakelants E, Demyttenaere K, D’Hooghe T. Reasons for dropout in infertility treatment
[5] Read more about Patient support recommendations from Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority's at https://www.hfea.gov.uk/media/2561/2018-03-15-supporting-patients.pdf
PATIENT
SATISFACTION
Despite the advancement of current Assisted Reproduction Technology many infertile couples are not able to complete their family [3].
Hence, process indicators, such as patient-centredness, are very important in addition to outcome indicators for patients’ satisfaction. Satisfied patients are more likely to recommend the clinic to other patients
CONTINUATION
OF TREATMENT
One of the main reasons people do not comply with continuation of treatment after one or more failed cycles is the psychological and physical burden of treatment.
Patients who voluntarily dropped out of treatment have reported the high impact of the psychological burden (72%) and lack of staff empathy (32%) as their reasons for leaving clinic [4]
