Web-based treatment for infertility-related psychological distress - PubMed

Affiliations

• PMID: 20127127
• DOI: 10.1007/s00737-009-0142-x

Randomized Controlled Trial

Web-based treatment for infertility-related psychological distress

Minden B Sexton et al. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

Infertility has been associated with stigma and negative psychosocial functioning. However, only a small proportion of this population actually receives care. Fertility patients predominantly use the Internet for information gathering, social support, and assistance with decision-making; yet, available web resources are unreliable sources of mental health care. Web-based alternatives also have the potential to assist with intervention access difficulties and may be of significant lower cost. This study evaluated the efficacy of a web-based approach to providing a cognitive behavioral intervention with 31 infertile women seeking medical reproductive technologies. Following randomized assignment, participants using the web-based intervention were compared with those in a wait-list control condition on general and infertility-related psychological stress measures. Results were mixed regarding intervention efficacy. Significant declines in general stress were evidenced in the experimental group compared with a wait-list control group. However, website access did not result in statistically significant improvements on a measure of infertility-specific stress. These findings add to the literature on psychological interventions for women experiencing fertility problems. Moreover, despite the widespread use of the Internet by this population, the present study is one of the first to investigate the usefulness of the Internet to attenuate stress in this population. Preliminary results suggest general stress may be significantly reduced in infertile women using an online cognitive behavioral approach.

Similar articles

• An internet-based mind/body intervention to mitigate distress in women experiencing infertility: A randomized pilot trial.

  Clifton J, Parent J, Seehuus M, Worrall G, Forehand R, Domar A. Clifton J, et al. PLoS One. 2020 Mar 18;15(3):e0229379. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229379. eCollection 2020. PLoS One. 2020. PMID: 32187236 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

• Mindfulness-Based Program for Infertility: efficacy study.

  Galhardo A, Cunha M, Pinto-Gouveia J. Galhardo A, et al. Fertil Steril. 2013 Oct;100(4):1059-67. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.05.036. Epub 2013 Jun 27. Fertil Steril. 2013. PMID: 23809500 Clinical Trial.

• Infertility and assisted reproduction in Denmark. Epidemiology and psychosocial consequences.

  Schmidt L. Schmidt L. Dan Med Bull. 2006 Nov;53(4):390-417. Dan Med Bull. 2006. PMID: 17150146 Review.

• The impact of psychological distress tolerance in the treatment of depression.

  Williams AD, Thompson J, Andrews G. Williams AD, et al. Behav Res Ther. 2013 Aug;51(8):469-75. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2013.05.005. Epub 2013 May 31. Behav Res Ther. 2013. PMID: 23787227 Clinical Trial.

• The relationship between stress and infertility.

  Rooney KL, Domar AD. Rooney KL, et al. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2018 Mar;20(1):41-47. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.1/klrooney. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2018. PMID: 29946210 Free PMC article. Review.

Cited by

• Efficacy of psychosocial interventions for psychological and pregnancy outcomes in infertile women and men: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

  Frederiksen Y, Farver-Vestergaard I, Skovgård NG, Ingerslev HJ, Zachariae R. Frederiksen Y, et al. BMJ Open. 2015 Jan 28;5(1):e006592. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006592. BMJ Open. 2015. PMID: 25631310 Free PMC article. Review.

• Pilot trial of a new self-directed psychological intervention for infertility-related distress.

  Poulter MML, Balsom AA, Gordon JL. Poulter MML, et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2024 Aug 16;10(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s40814-024-01535-y. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2024. PMID: 39152484 Free PMC article.

• The effect of self-compassion-based programs for infertility (SCPI) on anxiety and depression among women pursuing fertility treatment: a three-armed, randomised controlled trial.

  Njogu A, Kaburu F, Njogu J, Barasa E, Mutisya A, Luo Y. Njogu A, et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023 Apr;40(4):911-927. doi: 10.1007/s10815-023-02771-6. Epub 2023 Mar 17. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023. PMID: 36930358 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

• Perceived stress reduction through an infertility coaching program: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

  Soleimani R, Ansari F, Hamzehgardeshi Z, Elyasi F, Moosazadeh M, Yazdani F, Shahidi M, Shiraghaei N, Karimi M, Hemati T, Pejmanmanesh M. Soleimani R, et al. Sci Rep. 2023 Sep 4;13(1):14511. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-41845-4. Sci Rep. 2023. PMID: 37666933 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

• The effectiveness of multimedia mental health self-care program based on cyber space on the mental health of infertile women: a randomized controlled trial.

  Yahyavi Koochaksaraei F, Simbar M, Faramarzi M, Khoshnoodifar M, Nasiri M. Yahyavi Koochaksaraei F, et al. BMC Psychol. 2024 Nov 12;12(1):647. doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-02139-0. BMC Psychol. 2024. PMID: 39533352 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Ovid Technologies, Inc.
  • Springer

• Medical

  • MedlinePlus Health Information