1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In this study, we describe the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments by infertile non-Western immigrant couples and Western couples in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and explore whether Western and non-Western couples ascribe different meanings to their use of alternative fertility treatments.» (p. 686)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Our specific research questions are as follows: […] What types of CAM did infertile couples use while undergoing biomedical fertility treatment? […] What were the infertile couples’ attitudes towards CAM? […] Did non-Westerners’ reasons for using CAM differ from Westerners’ reasons for using CAM?» (p. 687)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The participants were 32 heterosexual couples seeking fertility treatment from two infertility clinics in Montreal.» (p. 687)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«Our data revealed three categories of CAM: lifestyle changes, alternative medicine, and religious methods. While lifestyle changes were generally used by patients at the beginning of the fertility treatment process, couples who had been in treatment for a longer period of time tended to adopt alternative medicine and religious methods as well. […] CAM gave hope to Western and non-Western participants alike. CAM was another avenue of treatment to increase the couples’ hopes of having a child and made patients feel that they were doing everything possible to increase their chances of conceiving. […] In conclusion, this appears to be the first study to explore non-Western immigrants’ use of alternative, nonbiomedical infertility treatment methods, which may be embedded in their culture-specific knowledge of physiology and health.» (p. 690-691)