1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This study aims «to explore the psychosocial support needs of a diverse sample of infertility patients.» (p. 391)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«We addressed the following questions: (1) What were infertile couples’ reasons for wanting psychosocial support? What benefits did they hope to gain from psychosocial supports? (2) If couples sought support, what types of support did they seek? (3) If couples did not seek the desired support, what kinds of supports did they feel would be helpful?» (p. 391)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«This study involved 32 heterosexual couples seeking fertility treatment from one of two infertility clinics in Montreal, Canada.» (p. 391)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«When considering the psychosocial services that would be most helpful for infertile couples, clinicians and researchers must ask patients not only whether they want support, but why they want support. The underlying needs for support are essential in providing appropriate services. […] Infertility treatment has elements that are both controllable (e.g. deciding when to start treatment, what course of treatment to pursue) and uncontrollable (e.g. treatment outcome, the timing of appointments), and accordingly, our couples expressed needs for both emotional and educational supports. […] It is important to note that, although the majority of our couples desired some form of psychosocial support, most did not feel that they required the professional services of a psychologist. This accords with the view that many infertile individuals are not clinically depressed or anxious; rather, they are people going through a stressful and challenging life event. Furthermore, many infertile couples expressed a need for shared experience and understanding that comes from interaction with others in similar circumstances. Our study also found that some patients did not seek professional counseling because of a fear of being labeled as ‘having a problem’, or due to negative attitudes toward professional counseling.» (p. 393)