Reproductive knowledge and patient education needs among Indonesian women infertility patients attending three fertility clinics

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the reproductive knowledge and patient education needs of 212 female Indonesian infertility patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to September 2011 by married women, 18 to 45 years old, seeking infertility care from clinics in Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar. Participants were literate, the sample was highly educated, predominantly urban and primarily middle class or elite.

Results: Infertility consultants were cited as the most useful source of information by 65% of respondents, 94% understood that infertility results from male and female factors, 84% could distinguish between infertility and sterility, and 70% could identify their fertility window. However, demand for further knowledge of reproduction and infertility was expressed by 87%. Patients' knowledge of the causes and treatment of infertility was extremely poor. Two key causes of infertility, advanced age and untreated sexually transmissible infections, were not named. Only 19% of patients had received written information.

Conclusion: The study revealed the need for expanded infertility patient education among women patients accessing fertility care in Indonesian clinics.

Practice implications: Opportunities for education should be maximized within infertility consultations. A standardized infertility patient education curriculum should be developed, incorporating patients' priorities, as well as gaps in existing knowledge.

Keywords: Indonesia; Infertility; Information sources; Patient education; Patient knowledge.