Abstract
Research questionHow do infertility patients, endometriosis patients and health-care providers rate virtual care as an alternative to physical consultations during the first lockdown of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Netherlands, and how does this influence quality of life and quality of care? DesignInfertility patients and endometriosis patients from a university hospital and members of national patient organizations, as well as healthcare providers in infertility and endometriosis care, were asked to participate between May and October 2020. The distributed online questionnaires consisted of an appraisal of virtual care and an assessment of fertility-related quality of life (FertiQol) and patient-centredness of endometriosis care (ENDOCARE). ResultsQuestionnaires were returned by 330 infertility patients, 181 endometriosis patients and 101 healthcare providers. Of these, 75.9% of infertility patients, 64.8% of endometriosis patients and 80% of healthcare providers rated telephone consultations as a good alternative to physical consultations during the COVID-19-pandemic. Only 21.3%, 14.8% and 19.2% of the three groups rated telephone consultations as a good replacement for physical consultations in the future. A total of 76.6% and 35.9% of the infertility and endometriosis patients reported increased levels of stress during the pandemic. Infertility patients scored lower on the FertiQol, while the ENDOCARE results care seem comparable to the reference population. ConclusionsVirtual care seems to be a good alternative for infertility and endometriosis patients in circumstances where physical consultations are not possible. Self-reported stress is especially high in infertility patients during the COVID-19-pandemic. Healthcare providers should aim to improve their patients’ ability to cope.
Highlights
The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a significant increase of pressure on healthcare systems all over the world
For infertility patients and endometriosis patients, this first lockdown period resulted in a temporary cancellation of physical appointments, elective surgery and assisted reproductive technology (ART) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
One-third of the participants with endometriosis reported a change in endometriosis complaints during COVID-19
Summary
The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a significant increase of pressure on healthcare systems all over the world. For infertility patients and endometriosis patients, this first lockdown period resulted in a temporary cancellation of physical appointments, elective surgery and assisted reproductive technology (ART) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. In order to maintain continuity of care for both patient groups during the first COVID-19 lockdown, virtual care options such as telephone consultations and video consultations were quickly implemented in most hospitals throughout the Netherlands. Telephone consultations were already being used prior to the pandemic, mainly to communicate the results of diagnostic tests. Video consultations were not widely used in fertility and endometriosis care. With the use of these virtual care alternatives, healthcare providers were able to replace at least a proportion of the cancelled physical appointments in outpatient clinics, providing continuity in fertility and endometriosis care
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