Calidad de vida de parejas infértiles en el sector público de Chile / Quality of life of infertile couples in the public health sector in Chile

RESUMEN

Background It is widely known that infertility and its treatment have a negative impact on patients' well-being, yet not much is known about patients' satisfaction with the quality of reproductive care. Purpose To assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients receiving medical care under the Chilean public health system. Materials and Methods The FertiQoL international questionnaire was applied to 260 patients (both sexes) referred from rural and urban areas to undergo in vitro fertilization at a major university public hospital. FertiQol evaluates QoL as a product of psychosocial well-being and treatment experience. Demographic and reproductive data were collected. Results QoL due to treatment factors was significantly lower than psychosocial well-being. Couples from lower-density areas showed markedly worse medical satisfaction than patients treated in Chile's capital. No effects on QoL were observed as a function of age, education, or type of infertility. QoL was mostly affected by duration of infertility (inverse association) and geographical zone. Marital satisfaction was the component that most contributed to personal well-being. Conclusions QoL decreased more due to extrinsic factors, particularly lack of access to reproductive care, poor organization of medical services, and deficient clinical interaction, than due to psychosocial distress. These findings call for a revision of the delivery of public fertility care to satisfy patients' needs and improve their QoL.