Satisfaction with in vitro fertilization treatment: patients’ experiences and professionals’ perceptions

BACKGROUND: This paper investigates patients’ satisfaction with various aspects of fertility care and seeks to determine to what extent fertility specialists are able to assess patient satisfaction. Patients’ experiences with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) services and facilities have been compiled and examined in order to discover whether patients’ satisfaction is correlated to psychological factors and demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics, and whether patients’ satisfaction has an influence on the willingness to pay (WTP) for IVF treatment. METHODS: The study was carried out on 204 patients and 19 fertility professionals from 8 public IVF units in Israel. RESULTS: The study found that, overall, infertile patients are satisfied with the care they received. Several demographic variables (age; education; income; number of fertility treatments) and psychological factors (‘Pessimism’ and ‘Activeness’), were found to be significantly correlated with patient satisfaction with IVF. The results yielded a negative correlation between the WTP for IVF treatment and the satisfaction with access to care and physical conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction is an important component in the evaluation of fertility treatments as well as other medical interventions. Insights into the quality of care as seen from the patients’ perspective may help healthcare staff better meet patients’ needs, wishes, and priorities.