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Effect of Infertility Counselling on Infertility Treatment Knowledge among Women Receiving Fertility Care in Nigeria

Abstract

Infertility is an important reproductive health concern that may affect women's physical, psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing. Women receiving fertility care may require accurate information about the causes and evaluation of infertility, available treatment options, expected treatment procedures, possible benefits and limitations, potential risks, treatment duration, follow-up requirements, and appropriate healthcare decisions. However, inadequate knowledge, misinformation, stigma, financial constraints, fear of treatment, cultural beliefs, and limited access to qualified fertility counselling may affect women's understanding of infertility treatment and their ability to make informed decisions. Infertility counselling provides an opportunity for healthcare professionals to offer individualized information, emotional support, treatment guidance, and clarification of misconceptions throughout the fertility-care process. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of infertility counselling on infertility treatment knowledge among women receiving fertility care in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Patient-Centred Care Model. The Health Belief Model explains how women's perceptions of infertility, perceived severity, perceived benefits of treatment, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their understanding and utilization of infertility treatment. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes learning, self-efficacy, observational learning, social support, and environmental influences in the acquisition and application of health information. The Patient-Centred Care Model emphasizes individualized communication, shared decision-making, respect for patients' preferences, effective information exchange, and involvement of patients in healthcare decisions. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how infertility counselling may influence treatment knowledge among women receiving fertility care in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise women receiving infertility evaluation or treatment at selected fertility clinics, gynaecological clinics, hospitals, and assisted reproductive healthcare facilities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, healthcare facilities, fertility centres, and eligible women receiving infertility care. Infertility counselling will be assessed using indicators such as availability of counselling services, frequency and duration of counselling sessions, individualized counselling, explanation of infertility causes and investigations, discussion of treatment options, information about treatment procedures, potential benefits and limitations, possible risks, expected treatment duration, follow-up requirements, emotional support, communication quality, and opportunities for patients to ask questions. Infertility treatment knowledge will be assessed using indicators such as knowledge of common causes of infertility, diagnostic evaluation, medical and surgical treatment options, ovulation induction, fertility medications, intrauterine insemination, assisted reproductive technologies where appropriate, treatment expectations, possible complications, follow-up requirements, and the importance of professional medical supervision. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated knowledge-assessment instruments, counselling records, and relevant fertility-care records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to infertility counselling, and levels of treatment knowledge. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of infertility counselling on infertility treatment knowledge. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, treatment-knowledge scores before and after counselling will be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that infertility counselling has a significant positive effect on infertility treatment knowledge among women receiving fertility care in Nigeria. Women exposed to structured, individualized, and professionally delivered counselling are expected to demonstrate better understanding of infertility causes, diagnostic procedures, available treatment options, treatment expectations, potential risks and benefits, and follow-up requirements than women with limited counselling exposure. Effective counselling may correct misconceptions, reduce misinformation, improve communication between women and fertility-care providers, and increase women's confidence in participating in treatment decisions. Counselling may also help women understand that infertility can involve female, male, combined, or unexplained factors and that appropriate evaluation may involve both partners. However, emotional distress, treatment costs, stigma, cultural beliefs, limited counselling personnel, complex medical information, and unequal access to specialized fertility services may affect the effectiveness of counselling. The study therefore expects accessible, confidential, patient-centred, culturally appropriate, and continuous infertility counselling to contribute significantly to improved infertility treatment knowledge among women receiving fertility care in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on infertility counselling, infertility treatment knowledge, fertility care, reproductive health education, assisted reproductive healthcare, patient-centred care, shared decision-making, women's reproductive health, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, fertility clinics, hospitals, gynaecologists, fertility specialists, nurses, counsellors, psychologists, reproductive health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving fertility-care education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening infertility counselling services, training healthcare professionals in patient-centred fertility communication, developing accessible educational materials, improving shared decision-making, addressing infertility-related misconceptions and stigma, and ensuring that women receiving fertility care have adequate knowledge to make informed decisions about available treatment options across Nigeria.

Keywords: Infertility counselling, infertility treatment knowledge, fertility care, infertility treatment, reproductive health, fertility services, assisted reproductive technology, patient-centred care, shared decision-making, women, Nigeria, public health.