TY - JOUR
T1 - Low fertility awareness in United States reproductive-aged women and medical trainees
T2 - creation and validation of the Fertility & Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS)
AU - Kudesia, Rashmi
AU - Chernyak, Elizabeth
AU - McAvey, Beth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - Objective To create, validate, and use a fertility awareness survey based on current U.S. data. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) Phase 1 included U.S. women ages 18–45; phase 2 included female medical students and obstetrics and gynecology trainees at two urban academic programs. Intervention(s) Survey including demographics, the Fertility & Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS) instrument, and General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire. Main Outcome Measure(s) Knowledge of natural fertility and infertility treatments. Result(s) The FIT-KS was validated through detailed item and validity analyses. In phase 1, 127 women participated; their median age was 31 years, and 43.7% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 16.2 ± 3.5 (55.9% correct). In phase 2, 118 medical trainees participated; their median age was 25 years, and 12.4% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 18.8 ± 2.1 (64.9% correct), with year of training correlating to a higher score (r=0.40). Participant awareness regarding lifestyle factors varied, but it was particularly low regarding the effects of lubricants. The majority underestimated the spontaneous miscarriage rate and overestimated the fecundability of 40-year-old women. There was general overestimation of success rates for assisted reproductive technologies, particularly among medical trainees. Conclusion(s) The FIT-KS is validated to current U.S. data for use in both general and medical populations as a quick assessment of fertility knowledge. The knowledge gaps demonstrated in this study correlate with national trends in delayed childbearing and time to initiate treatment. For medical trainees, these results raise concerns about the quality of fertility counseling they may be able to offer patients. Greater educational outreach must be undertaken to enhance fertility awareness.
AB - Objective To create, validate, and use a fertility awareness survey based on current U.S. data. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) Phase 1 included U.S. women ages 18–45; phase 2 included female medical students and obstetrics and gynecology trainees at two urban academic programs. Intervention(s) Survey including demographics, the Fertility & Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS) instrument, and General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire. Main Outcome Measure(s) Knowledge of natural fertility and infertility treatments. Result(s) The FIT-KS was validated through detailed item and validity analyses. In phase 1, 127 women participated; their median age was 31 years, and 43.7% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 16.2 ± 3.5 (55.9% correct). In phase 2, 118 medical trainees participated; their median age was 25 years, and 12.4% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 18.8 ± 2.1 (64.9% correct), with year of training correlating to a higher score (r=0.40). Participant awareness regarding lifestyle factors varied, but it was particularly low regarding the effects of lubricants. The majority underestimated the spontaneous miscarriage rate and overestimated the fecundability of 40-year-old women. There was general overestimation of success rates for assisted reproductive technologies, particularly among medical trainees. Conclusion(s) The FIT-KS is validated to current U.S. data for use in both general and medical populations as a quick assessment of fertility knowledge. The knowledge gaps demonstrated in this study correlate with national trends in delayed childbearing and time to initiate treatment. For medical trainees, these results raise concerns about the quality of fertility counseling they may be able to offer patients. Greater educational outreach must be undertaken to enhance fertility awareness.
KW - Fertility
KW - fertility awareness
KW - gynecology
KW - infertility
KW - medical education
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U2 - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.07.1158
DO - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.07.1158
M3 - Article
C2 - 28911930
AN - SCOPUS:85029007448
SN - 0015-0282
VL - 108
SP - 711
EP - 717
JO - Fertility and Sterility
JF - Fertility and Sterility
IS - 4
ER -