This project is being undertaken by Deirdre Page, as a requirement of the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology at Monash University in Victoria, Australia. As a course requirement she will be preparing a research thesis, in which she will examine the relationships between intimate relationships, social support and psychological distress among infertile couples. Very little research to date has been conducted into infertile couples as a unit, preferring to focus largely on the women’s perspective of infertility. This is somewhat surprising given that the prevalence of infertility in both Australian and US societies is between 10-15%, affecting 30% of women, 30% of men, 30% combined and 10% unexplained. The experience of infertility affects both women and men in different ways. This is why it is of particular importance that both members of the couple participate in this study. The significance of learning more about how you as a couple cope during infertility and any subsequent treatment/s including insemination and IVF, may have numerous benefits for couples experiencing infertility. Secondly, gaining an insight into how social support may lessen psychological distress such as feelings of anxiety and depression will allow us to better understand the experience of infertile couples and suggest strategies for increasing the wellbeing of such couples.
Your participation in this study therefore would be valued. You are free, of course, to decline to take part in the study or to withdraw from it at any time but we hope you will be willing to complete the questionnaires.
The majority of studies in this area have focused on how women cope with infertility. As we are interested in how infertility affects both men and women we are seeking heterosexual couples over 18 years of age who are currently dealing with infertility, including infertility treatment/s or have dealt with infertility and/or infertility treatments in the past. In order for us to understand the experience of the couple as a unit it is important that both members of the couple complete the study. In order to ensure all your responses are anonymous we suggest that each member of the couple complete the survey separately. The survey questions will ask background characteristics, including your age, history of your infertility, and efforts to conceive. You will also be asked to comment on your intimate relationship, coping strategies, social support, experience of infertility, and feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.
Your answers to each of these questionnaires will remain completely anonymous, so please respond to them as frankly as you can. At the beginning of the survey you will be prompted with a series of questions that will allow us to assign a unique code to each couple. This code will be used by the researchers to match responses from each member of the couple, but will in no way be able to be used to identify you. In each questionnaire, spend only a little time on each item, responding as spontaneously and openly as you can. The set of questionnaires should take about 20-30 minutes to complete.
If you decide to participate, please print and keep this information sheet for your future reference and then complete each questionnaire in turn. Your return of the completed questionnaires will be taken as your informed consent to participate in the project.
While you may not personally benefit from participating in this study, your responses will help us better understand the experiences of infertile couples, allowing us to make recommendations that may improve the wellbeing of those trying to conceive.
It is possible you may experience some distress while completing the questionnaire. If this occurs, feel free to stop filling in the questionnaire, which you may do by simply closer your browser If you wish to talk to someone about anything covered in this survey please feel free to call one of the help lines listed below.
If you have any queries or would like to be informed of the research findings please contact my supervisor, Dr Penelope Hasking on 03 9903 1148 or email Penelope.Hasking@med.monash.edu.au In addition to appearing in the fourth year thesis, results from this project may be published in journals or presented at conferences, but only aggregate data will be presented – you will not be identified in any way. Data will be stored at Monash University for a period of 5 years, in accordance with University policy.
It is expected that the project will be completed by December 2008. If you would like general information about the outcome of the project, please contact Dr Penelope Hasking at Monash University after that date.
| If you would like to contact the researchers about any aspect of this study, please contact the Chief Investigator: | If you have a complaint concerning the manner in which this research
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| Dr. Penelope Hasking Lecturer School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University Tel: +61 3 990 31148 Email: Penelope.Hasking@med.monash.edu.au |
Human Ethics Officer Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans (SCERH) Building 3e Room 111 Research Office Monash University VIC 3800 Tel: +61 3 9905 2052 Fax: +61 3 9905 1420 Email: scerh@adm.monash.edu.au |
Thank you,
Deirdre Page & Penelope Hasking