Supporting Women Undergoing IVF Treatment With Timely Patient Information Through an App: Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth 2021-08, Vol.9 (8), p.e28104
• Main Authors: Timmers, Thomas, Keijsers, Manouk, Kremer, Jan A M, Janssen, Loes, Smeenk, Jesper
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical trials; Embryos; Female; Fertility; Fertilization in Vitro; Health literacy; Hospitals; Humans; In vitro fertilization; Intervention; Mobile Applications; Netherlands; Original Paper; Ovaries; Patient education; Pregnancy; Reproductive technologies; Smartphones; Sperm; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; Uterus
• ISSN: 2291-5222; 2291-5222
• DOI: 10.2196/28104

Since the introduction of assisted reproductive technologies in 1978, over 2 million in vitro fertilization (IVF) babies have been born worldwide. Patients play a vital role in the success of this treatment. They are required to take fertility medication (hormone injections) to activate the ovaries to produce a sufficient number of oocytes. Later, they need to take medication to increase the chance of the embryo surviving inside the uterus. Patients are educated during an intake consultation at the start of the treatment to minimize the emotional burden and reduce noncompliance. The consultation lasts about 30 to 45 minutes and covers all essential subjects. Even though ample time and energy is spent on patient education, patients still feel anxious, unknowledgeable, and unsupported. As such, electronic health utilizing a smartphone or tablet app can offer additional support, as it allows health care professionals to provide their patients with the correct information at the right time by using push notifications. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the capacity of an app to support IVF patients throughout the different phases of their treatment and assess its effectiveness. The study's primary outcome was to determine the patients' level of satisfaction with the information provided. The secondary outcomes included their level of knowledge, ability to administer the medication, overall experienced quality of the treatment, health care consumption, and app usage. This study was performed at a specialized fertility clinic of the nonacademic teaching hospital Elisabeth-TweeSteden Ziekenhuis in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Patients who were scheduled for IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatments between April 2018 and August 2019 were invited to participate in a physician-blinded, randomized controlled trial. In total, 54 patients participated (intervention group: n=29). Patients in the intervention group demonstrated a higher level of satisfaction on a 0 to 10 scale (mean 8.43, SD 1.03 vs mean 7.70, SD 0.66; P=.004). In addition, they were more knowledgeable about the different elements of the treatment on a 7 to 35 scale (mean 27.29, SD 2.94 vs mean 23.05, SD 2.76; P