Waiting Anxiety in Infertile Women Referring to Yazd Infertility Center

Abstract

Background: Infertility has become a serious problem in societies, which may cause inevitable harm to the mental health of individuals. People suffering from their illness may experience increased anxiety if they wait for some time to receive services. Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the status of waiting anxiety in infertile women. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted 200 infertile women who consulted the Infertility Center of Yazd for treatment in 2017. The method of sampling was conducted based on convenience sampling (availability sampling). Data were collected with waiting anxiety questionnaire (WAQ). Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS software (version 16.0). The analysis included: (1) descriptive statistics [mean and standard deviation (SD)], (2) chi-square, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The total mean of waiting anxiety in infertile women was 20.69 ± 5.82. Based on the results, the mean of the dimensions were as follows: cognitive dimensions (5.31 ± 2.25), physiologic dimensions (5.24 ± 2.55), emotional dimensions (5.01 ± 2.13) and behavioral dimensions (14.32 ± 2.03). The results also showed that a significant relationship between the total mean of waiting anxiety and cognitive, physiology and behavioral dimensions with duration of infertility exists (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a significant relationship between the mean scores of behavioral dimensions with the duration of marriage (P = 0.04) and education (P = 0.015). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that infertile women who consulted to the centers were in a moderate condition in terms of waiting anxiety. Therefore, designing and performing effective interventions to reduce the anxiety of infertile women is recommended.