Abstract
One in every four couples worldwide will experience infertility and almost 60% of those will report psychological distress related to diagnosis or treatment. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to evaluate feasibility of incorporating a brief mindfulness-based intervention into usual care at an infertility practice. Effectiveness of the intervention in reducing anxiety and depression in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization was evaluated.
Summary: Participants (n = 15) were recruited from a university-affiliated infertility practice. Mindfulness training was provided in two-hour group sessions once weekly for four weeks. The meetings were conducted via Microsoft Teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 form (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) before and after the intervention.
Outcomes: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Participants were all female infertility patients, aged 32 to 45 years (M = 38.5), with a median time in fertility treatment of 17 months. GAD-7 scores decreased from a pre-intervention mean of 11 to 6.87 post-intervention. The observed difference is statistically significant (Z = -2.632, p = .008). This finding of decreased anxiety was supported by qualitative data collected from participant evaluations. PHQ-9 mean scores decreased from 9.27 to 6.47 and MAAS mean scores increased from 3.35 to 3.54. No significant differences were found in these results ( p = .115; p = .245 respectively). All participants indicated they would recommend the program to others. Program evaluations provided feedback on content and delivery platform.
Implications for Women's Health: Mindfulness-based interventions have been studied across a wide range of applications in Women's health. This project demonstrates an adaptation of this modality for patients undergoing stressful fertility procedures to provide holistic care and improve the patient experience. The synchronous virtual format provided patients with real-time support, visual demonstration of techniques and group interaction. Patients verbalized a decreased sense of isolation while still having the comfort of attending from home. This format could be utilized to bring mindfulness education to other groups in need of stress management education.
Sigma Membership
Kappa Gamma
Lead Author Affiliation
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Pilot/Exploratory Study
Keywords:
Infertility, Mindfulness, Anxiety
Conference Name
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health 24th Annual Premier Women's Healthcare Conference
Conference Year
2021
Conference Location
Virtual Event
Conference Host
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
Recommended Citation
Marfoglio, Susan and Collins, Elizabeth, "Implementation and evaluation of a mindfulness-based intervention for patients undergoing in vitro fertilization" (2024). Group: National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH). 19.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_npwh/19
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Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Self-submission
Full Text of Presentation
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