Submission ID 129890
| Issue/Objective | Biomedical infertility care is often the most advanced option for couples seeking to conceive. However, many discontinue treatment before achieving pregnancy, leading to prolonged stigma, emotional distress, hopelessness, and increased risk of mental health disorders. Most studies on treatment discontinuation are from high-income countries and may not reflect the realities in low-income settings like Tanzania, where population characteristics, healthcare systems, economic conditions, and sociocultural factors shape treatment continuation and adherence. |
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| Methodology/Approach | This study used a systematic approach to explore factors influencing biomedical infertility care discontinuation in Tanzania and identify context-sensitive interventions. It combined a review of peer-reviewed and grey literature with qualitative interviews of key informants from Tanzania-including fertility care professionals, a religious leader, and an infertility support group leader-guided by McLeroy's socio-ecological model. |
| Results | Key reasons for infertility treatment discontinuation include high costs, limited insurance coverage, absence of government-funded services, lack of national legislation, and long travel distances. Emotional stress related to prolonged or failed treatment, older age, lack of partner support, poor counselling, and unskilled providers also contribute. Social stigma and certain religious beliefs further hinder continuation, whereas being married and receiving faith-based or community support encourage persistence. Men's experiences are under-researched, leaving gaps in understanding their role in treatment continuation. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The identified factors interact across individual, social, and structural levels, highlighting critical gaps in Tanzania's reproductive health system and pointing to areas for intervention. Expanding insurance schemes and government-funded infertility services integrated into reproductive health programs, introducing national legislation, improving service availability, providing psychosocial support and provider training, and promoting male involvement and community engagement are needed. Future studies exploring men's perspectives are warranted. Recognizing infertility as a reproductive right is essential to reduce discontinuation. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Anna Gideon Kasililika Benjamin Mkapa Hospital Yasmine El Addouli KIT Trudie Gerrits University of Amsterdam |
