Fertility, Gender Role, Lifestyle, Pregnancy, Sexual Behavior
Conditions
Brief summary
Many women and men in fertile age are at risk for sexual transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies, and have insufficient knowledge of health promoting lifestyle prior to conception. There is a need to increase awareness among people in fertile age about how sexual risk-taking and unhealthy lifestyle can negatively affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes. Previous studies on preconception health and care have mainly focused on women. The aim of our study was to investigate if Reproductive Life Plan-based counseling with a midwife could increase men's reproductive knowledge. The second aim was to evaluate men's experiences of the intervention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALReproductive Life Plan (RLP)
A structured discussion based on the RLP, including information about reproduction and a brochure with the same information.
Sponsors
Uppsala University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
The randomization was blind to the participants, but they were made aware of their allocation during the intervention
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Visitors at drop-in hours at two clinics testing for sexually transmitted infections
Exclusion criteria
* Non-Swedish speaking * Female gender identity
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of reproduction, measured by a total knowledge score | 2-3 months after the intervention | Knowledge of reproduction will be measured by knowledge of the following items: * the viability of an ovum * the viability of sperm * how likely it is that a 25-year old women gets pregnant if she has unprotected intercourse at the time of ovulation * at what age there is a marked decline in women's ability to become pregnant * the proportion of infertility-cases that are caused by a male factor * success rate of IVF-treatment The outcome will be given as a total score, based on number of correct answers to the items above, and compared to the total score at baseline |
| Knowledge of lifestyle related factors that can affect fertility, measured by the total number of factors mentioned | 2-3 months after the intervention | The participants will be asked to mention as many factors as they can remember that * can impair male fertility * could be modified in the preconception period to increase the chances of conception and having a healthy offspring The number of factors mentioned after the intervention will be compared to the number of factors mentioned at baseline |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Generating new thoughts (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | If the intervention could generate new thoughts on reproduction is measured on a Likert-scale by the question \- Has the intervention brought new thoughts about reproduction (In very large extent - in very small extent) |
| Generating further knowledge seeking (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | If the intervention could lead to further knowledge seeking is measured on by the question \- Did the discussion with the midwife lead to a search for more information about reproduction (A lot more - some more - not at all) |
| Implications for future health care seeking (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | Whether the availability of discussing RLP with a midwife would be of future interest is measured on a Likert-scale by the question \- The likelihood of approaching a midwife if more questions about reproduction occured (Very likely - Very unlikely) |
| Overall experiences of the intervention (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | Experience of the intervention is measured on a Likert-scale by the question of \- The participants overall experience of the intervention (very positive - very negative) |
| Likelihood of future lifestyle change (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | Whether participants would consider making a preconception lifestyle change is measured on a Likert-scale by the question \- The likelihood among of making a lifestyle change in the future when planning for a pregnancy (Very likely - Very unlikely) |
| Importance of discussing fertility and preconception health with men (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | The perceived significance of RLP-counselling is measured on a Likert-scale by the question \- The importance of informing/educating men about fertility and preconception health issues (Very important - Very unimportant) |
| Implications for implementing RLP-counseling as a routine (yes/no) | 2-3 months after the intervention | The acceptance of implementing RLP-counselling as a routine is measured by the question \- Should midwives or other health care professionals routinely discuss the Reproductive Life Plan with their patients (yes/no) |
| Experience of discussing reproductive life plan (RLP) with a midwife (Likert-scale) | 2-3 months after the intervention | Experience of discussing RLP with a midwife is measured on a Likert-scale by the question \- How was the experience of talking to a midwife about the reproductive life plan (very positive - very negative) |
Countries
Sweden
Outcome results
None listed