Psychosocial interventions for infertile couples: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective: To bring out current evidence regarding psycho-social interventions for infertility care, and identify the best practices in clinical care.

Methods: An in-depth literature review on infertility care intervention was conducted using data from multiple databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO. The relevant articles selected were between 2008 and 2022.

Results: A literature search turned up 1 798 citations, of which 25 studies were included after rigorous analysis. Various intervention categories have been constantly utilised to provide support and promote mental health, of which acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) were used most frequently. The interventions exhibited diversity in both content and composition, and addressed a wide range of issues.

Conclusions: The review emphasizes that psycho-social interventions have a positive effect on psychological issues, relationships, and pregnancies among couples and can be incorporated into fertility-care practices.

Keywords

Infertile couples / Psychosocial interventions / Mental health / Quality of life

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all our colleagues in Rajagiri College Research Center for their full cooperation and support on this study.

Funding

This work was funded by University Grants Commission, India under the JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) scheme for Ph.D. Scholars.

Authors’ contributions

This study was prepared by Sreemol Sunil and Dr. Anish K.R. All authors have read the final manuscript, provided feedback and approved the final manuscript.

Publisher’s Note

The Publisher of the Journal remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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