A Swanson’s caring theory–based intervention to reduce infertility-related stress and improve coping strategies in women and their partners undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART): a randomized controlled trial

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a supportive care intervention based on Swanson’s Caring Theory on infertility-related stress and coping strategies among women and their partners undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART).

Methods

This single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with 100 couples undergoing ART at the IVF Center of Ondokuz Mayıs University Health Practice and Research Center, Türkiye. Couples were randomly assigned to either the intervention group receiving Swanson’s Caring Theory–based supportive care or the control group receiving routine care. Data were collected at baseline prior to treatment initiation (T1), pre–embryo transfer (T2), and one month following embryo transfer (T3). Infertility-related stress and coping strategies were assessed using the COMPI Fertility Problem Stress Scales and the COMPI Coping Strategy Scales. Repeated-measures ANOVA and t tests were used for analyses.

Results

Compared with controls, women and men in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in infertility-related stress scores from T1 to T2 (all p < .001). Significant group × time interactions were also identified for active coping, meaning-based coping, active-avoidance coping, and passive-avoidance coping among both women and men (all p ≤ .010). Active coping and meaning-based coping increased over time in the intervention group, whereas passive-avoidance coping also increased during the active treatment phase. Exploratory analyses among participants with unsuccessful ART outcomes indicated lower infertility-related stress scores in the intervention group at T3. Women in the intervention group also reported lower active-avoidance coping scores, whereas both women and men reported higher active coping and meaning-based coping scores. Passive-avoidance coping scores decreased from T2 to T3 among intervention participants with unsuccessful ART outcomes.

Conclusion

Supportive care grounded in Swanson’s Caring Theory may reduce infertility-related stress and influence coping responses among couples undergoing ART treatment. Although increases were observed in active and meaning-based coping, coping patterns were not uniformly adaptive across all domains and treatment stages. The findings support the potential value of integrating structured supportive care into routine IVF services; however, exploratory findings related to unsuccessful ART outcomes should be interpreted with caution.

Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07557069 (retrospectively registered).