Katarina Grgić, Ana Tikvica Luetić, Ingrid Marton, Lara Luetić

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.64332/ujbb.3.1.4

Abstract
Background: Infertility is a significant medical and psychosocial burden for couples. Patient-centred care (PCC) promotes informed decision-making by integrating patients’ values and preferences. Within this approach, it is important to provide information about all therapeutic options, including less invasive treatments such as Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM).

Aim: To assess perceived patient-centred infertility care among couples undergoing treatment at the University Hospital Sveti Duh in Zagreb, and to examine the importance they attribute to being offered less invasive treatment options before medically assisted reproduction (MAR).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2022 at the University Hospital Sveti Duh in Zagreb. The survey combined sociodemographic questions with selected items from the Patient-Centredness Questionnaire – Infertility (PCQ-I). The study included couples undergoing infertility treatment during the study period.

Results: A total of 101 couples participated in the study. Care was generally perceived as mostly or fully patient-centered. No significant link was found between being offered less invasive methods and overall satisfaction (p=0.34). However, respondents interested in less invasive treatments rated the domain of respect for patients’ values and needs significantly lower compared to those not interested (median 2.3 vs 2.7; p=0.007). Married women reported significantly lower satisfaction than unmarried women in several PCC domains, including communication (median 2.42 vs 2.83; p=0.007) and overall patient-centeredness (median 2.49 vs 2.85; p<0.001).

Conclusion: While infertility care at the University Hospital Sveti Duh has been largely perceived as patient-centred, less invasive and restorative reproductive options remain insufficiently offered and integrated. Greater awareness and availability of restorative and fertility-awareness-based approaches may help strengthen shared decision-making and better align infertility care with patient-centred principles.

Keywords: infertility, patient-centred care, restorative reproductive medicine, medically assisted reproduction, patient satisfactions