Grace, Bola;
Shawe, Jill;
Stephenson, Judith;
(2023)
Exploring fertility knowledge amongst healthcare professional and lay population groups in the UK: a mixed methods study.
Human Fertility
10.1080/14647273.2022.2153349.
(In press).
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Abstract
As the average age of first-time parents continues to rise, there has been a concerted effort by educators, policy makers and several reproductive health groups to improve fertility awareness. This study explored fertility knowledge of lay men and women and healthcare professionals (HCPs) using the same test instrument, providing a new and unique perspective compared with previous studies. Results were obtained from 1082 survey respondents: 347 HCPs, 319 men and 413 women, 105 of whom were trying to conceive (TTC). A total of 35 interviewees were purposively sampled to include 9 HCPs, 13 men and 13 women from the reproductive age range and of varying ethnic and educational backgrounds. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using the framework method. The proportion of HCPs correctly answering the survey knowledge questions was 47.1 (95% CI ¼ 41.7%, 52.5%) compared to 44.4% for women (95% CI ¼ 38.9%, 50.1%); 49.9% (95% CI ¼ 39.0, 59.9%) for women TTC; and 32.5% (95% CI ¼ 27.1%, 37.9%) for men. HCPs were ranked as the most trusted source for seeking fertility information. Overall HCPs did not demonstrate better fertility knowledge than lay participants, with inconsistencies regarding where responsibility lies for providing the right information to patients. HCPs need to improve their knowledge about fertility to help improve patient’s fertility awareness.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Exploring fertility knowledge amongst healthcare professional and lay population groups in the UK: a mixed methods study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/14647273.2022.2153349 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/14647273.2022.2153349 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. |
| Keywords: | Fertility knowledge; psychosocial; mixed methods; qualitative research; healthcare professionals; fertility awareness |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Reproductive Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10162850 |
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