Martin Pook1, Walter Krause. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany. martin.pook@isb.bayern.de
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of preparatory information about the fertility workup on the patients' well-being. DESIGN: Two-group, randomized controlled study. SETTING: An andrology clinic. PATIENT(S): Two hundred fifty men enrolled for fertility workup. INTERVENTION(S): A two-page leaflet with preparatory information about the fertility workup, which was mailed to half of the participants after they had made an appointment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Questionnaire score for infertility-related distress at clinic attendance, proportion of participants that still had not attended 6 months after the scheduled appointment. RESULT(S): Distress scores and the proportion of nonattendees were significantly reduced in the group receiving the leaflet. An additional analysis revealed that 55% of the receivers did not know that the andrology clinic has its own web site, which was mentioned in the leaflet several times. CONCLUSION(S): Although it is uncertain how many patients actually read a routinely sent leaflet, preparatory information in written form is beneficial, at least for a significant subgroup of men who consider undergoing fertility workup. Fertility services might reduce the number of nonattendees by sending out leaflets.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of preparatory information about the fertility workup on the patients' well-being. DESIGN: Two-group, randomized controlled study. SETTING: An andrology clinic. PATIENT(S): Two hundred fifty men enrolled for fertility workup. INTERVENTION(S): A two-page leaflet with preparatory information about the fertility workup, which was mailed to half of the participants after they had made an appointment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Questionnaire score for infertility-related distress at clinic attendance, proportion of participants that still had not attended 6 months after the scheduled appointment. RESULT(S): Distress scores and the proportion of nonattendees were significantly reduced in the group receiving the leaflet. An additional analysis revealed that 55% of the receivers did not know that the andrology clinic has its own web site, which was mentioned in the leaflet several times. CONCLUSION(S): Although it is uncertain how many patients actually read a routinely sent leaflet, preparatory information in written form is beneficial, at least for a significant subgroup of men who consider undergoing fertility workup. Fertility services might reduce the number of nonattendees by sending out leaflets.
Authors: James F Smith; Thomas J Walsh; Alan W Shindel; Paul J Turek; Holly Wing; Lauri Pasch; Patricia P Katz Journal: J Sex Med Date: 2009-07-10 Impact factor: 3.802