Participation of general practitioners and therapeutic patient education in the care of infertile couples

Abstract

Background

Fertility treatment pathways are complex and lengthy. The current prevalence of infertility makes it a public health issue. The involvement of general practitioners and the training of fertility instructors to provide therapeutic education have been suggested as ways of involving patients in the process and improving the therapeutic trajectory of these patients, who often have co-morbidities.

Objective

To describe the activity of trained fertility instructors; to assess the interest of doctors in the fertility chart provided by women; and to describe the outcomes of their fertility care pathway.

Methods

66 French fertility instructors were interviewed in June 2024. The 15 general practitioners who had received additional training were also interviewed. The records of all couples who received fertility counselling and treatment between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023, the study cut-off date, were analysed.

Results

Doctors declared that the women had gained a clear understanding of their menstrual cycle, which was useful for diagnosis and treatment follow-up. The chart was particularly useful for diagnosing the causes of infertility and identifying when in the cycle to take medication. Only 4 of the 551 women were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 547 women, 204 (37%) became pregnant. Of these, 75% had a live birth or an ongoing pregnancy at study cut-off.

Conclusions

The involvement of fertility instructors and general practitioners improved the couple’s ability to interact with doctors and to adhere to infertility treatment. The fertility chart provided by the women proved to be useful in the diagnosis and treatment process.