Positive Adjustment Coping Intervention

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Infertility/Sterility
• Interventions: Other: Positive adjustment coping intervention; Other: Brainteaser

• Registration Number: NCT03118219
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital Heidelberg

Brief Summary

Involuntary childlessness is experienced as emotionally stressful, however psychosocial counseling is not always available on the spot. Aim of this RCT study is to examine the efficacy and acceptance of a psychological low-dose online intervention for couples in reproductive treatment.

Detailed Description

About 8% of all couples of reproductive age are involuntary childless, and just about 25,000 couples receive a medical treatment each year in Germany, which is experienced as "roller coaster of emotions". The positive effect of "face-to-face" counseling for couples with a desire for children has been proven. However, this does not yet apply to a variety of other forms of intervention, e.g. telephone or online counseling.

In this study, the effectiveness of a smartphone-supported psychosocial intervention for women and men in reproductive treatment will be examined in a randomized controlled pre-post design.

For this purpose, an intervention group and a comparison intervention group of each n = 60 couples in reproductive treatment will be examined at two points during a four-week interval using the ScreenIVF questionaire. The ScreenIVF will be completed paper-pencil before the intervention and online after the intervention. In the fourteen-day waiting period between oocyte puncture and pregnancy test (or the reappearance of menstruation), both groups receive either positive adjustment techniques or brainteasers.In addition, both groups are questioned one month after the post-measurement date on the perceived effectiveness and practicability of the intervention techniques.

Sociodemographic variables (such as age, education) and medical data (such as diagnosis, previous treatment cycles) as potential moderators, as well as possible pregnancies at the second measurement time will be reported.

No adverse effects or other risks are expected for the study participants.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-03-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-04-14
• Study First Posted: 2017-04-18
• Study Start: 2017-07-18
• Primary Completion: 2019-06-12
• Study Completion: 2019-08-08
• Status Verified: 2019-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-09-26
• Last Update Posted: 2019-09-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 401

Inclusion Criteria

All couples undergoing infertility treatment (in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection) at the Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Fertility Disorders at Heidelberg University Women's Hospital, which have

• agreed to participate in the study
• indicated their mobile phone number
• sufficient knowledge of German language.

If one partner is refusing to participate, the other person may be admitted as an individual.

Exclusion Criteria

• denial of participation
• non-existent smartphone
• insufficient knowledge of German language

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Positive adjustment coping intervention	Positive adjustment coping intervention	All persons allocated to the intervention group will receive daily text messages (SMS) to their smartphones with sentences for positive adjustment over two weeks starting from the day of the egg-cell punctuation.
Brainteaser	Brainteaser	All persons allocated to the comparison intervention group will receive daily text messages (SMS) to their smartphones with brainteasers over two weeks starting from the day of the egg-cell punctuation.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Differences in the Screen IVF questionaire between the intervention groups	through study completion, an average of 2 years	Differences in the ScreenIVF risk profile at post-measurement time between the intervention group of positive adjustment and the intervention comparison group with the brainteasers

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Qualitative evaluation of participants' opinion about the intervention	through study completion, an average of 2 years	Participants will be questioned about the recommendations to others concerning the intervention techniques (open questions)
Quantitative evaluation of participants' opinion about the intervention	through study completion, an average of 2 years	Participants will be questioned about the perceived effectiveness and practicability of the intervention techniques with quantitative items (Rating scales).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University Hospital Heidelberg; 🇩🇪 Heidelberg, Germany