Researchers: Tamar Medina-Artom¹

Background: Patient-centered care (PCC) is a core element of health-service quality. Fertility treatments (FT) provide a good test case for investigating the extent of implementation of PCC policy.

Objectives: To examine the implementation of PCC at IVF units in Israel.

Method: A multi-center study at eight IVF units, using mixed methods: in-depth interviews with fertility-unit directors, and surveys of 76 staff members and 524 patients. The structured questionnaires were based on a validated PCC tool. The response rate in the patient survey was approximately 80%.

Findings: The directors are familiar with the concept of PCC and, overall, support the approach. Patients, on average, scored their units at 2.0 (on a scale of 0-3) vs. a 2.2 average score in the staff member survey. The average patient scores for the various fertility units, ranged from 1.85 to 2.49. Patient scores vary according to socioeconomic variables such as ethnicity and education. While emotional support was scored by staff as the most prominent positive dimension of their work, patients scored it as the least positive dimension.

Conclusions: The patients' PCC scores show that there is room for improvement; there are some dimensions in which the fertility units excel, and others, which need improvement.

Recommendations: • The findings can be used as a management tool to improve the quality of service;
• The importance of adapting PCC to various population groups should be emphasized;
• Designating a specific staff member position as the lead in promoting the implementation of PCC., and the allocation of an authorized position for a mental-health practitioner at each unit should be considered;
• Follow-up studies should be performed to examine the trends in the implementation of the approach over time, the relationship between PCC and staff burnout, and PCC in other health conditions as well.

Research end date: 12/2018