The effect of face‑to‑face and telephone counseling on the desire for adoption in infertile couples
نویسندگان
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2 Associate Professor, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
4 PH.D in Biostatistics, Professor, Social Department of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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چکیده
BACKGROUND: Fertility is always one of the most important functions of the family. Having achild equals growing up and entering the adult world. Adoption is one of the methods that can beconsidered to treat infertility. One of the duties of health professionals, especially midwives, is toadvise and educate infertile people, which helps them in a way beyond medical treatment. Therefore,this study was conducted to determine the effect of face‑to‑face and telephone counseling on thedesire for adoption in infertile couples.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a two‑group counseling intervention study that wasperformed on 34 infertile couples referred to Mashhad Infertility Center. Infertile couples were randomlyassigned to face‑to‑face and telephone counseling groups. All participants completed the AdoptionAdoption Questionnaire at the beginning and end of the study. Data were analyzed by spss16 software.RESULTS: The mean score of propensity to adopt in the face‑to‑face counseling group 2 weeks afterthe intervention was significantly higher than before the intervention. Furthermore, the mean scoreof desire for adoption in the telephone counseling group increased significantly 2 weeks after theintervention compared to before (P < 0.001). Adoption scores varied in the face‑to‑face counseling groupat 3.15 and in the telephone counseling group at 3.23. There was no statistically significant differencebetween the two groups (P < 0.885). The most common reason for not wanting to adopt was hopefor self‑treatment and having children (70.6% women and 67.6% men). The most common reason foraccepting an adopted child was the strong need to have a child (23.5% in women and 23.5% in men).CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, counseling can increase people’s awarenessof the conditions of adoption and thus increase the desire of people to accept the adopted child. Forthis reason, considering adoption counseling sessions for infertile couples who have been receivinginfertility treatment for a long time but have not become pregnant can help the couple decide.
