One couple's experience with infertility: Nursing theory-based practice case study

Abstract

Infertility can be devastating for some couples. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a translation of knowledge and nursing theory-based practice regarding nursing care of couples experiencing infertility through a case study approach. It is important to consider the translation of knowledge to probable scenarios so that we may have opportunities to be better prepared when addressing such situations in actual nursing practice. Data sources include current literature, theoretical perspectives on power as knowing participation in change and nursing classifications. Data synthesis is illustrated within the context of a simulated case study of a couple experiencing unexplained secondary infertility through the application of a theory-based practice methodology, health patterning. The authors conclude that the theoretical perspectives of unitary science and the theory of power as knowing participation in change can be applied in practice. Theory-based practice methodologies such as health patterning offer an opportunity to provide holistic care to couples experiencing infertility. Using these theoretical perspectives, nurses can engage with couples expressing a readiness for enhanced power for a desired change. Nursing implications include the value of theory-based practice and the essential view of couples as unique human beings. In addition, it demonstrates the ongoing usefulness of case study approaches for nursing education as vehicles to enhance awareness of unitary experiences, updates to clinical care, and demonstration of the application of theory to practice.

Keywords

infertility case study power as knowing participation in change readiness for enhanced power reproductive technology management coping enhancement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allan

H. T.

(2016). Shining a light into an unexplored area of nursing infertility and in vitro fertilization [Editorial]. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26, 887–890. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13528

American Nurses Association (ANA) . (2015). Nursing scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: ANA.

American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) . (n.d.). State infertility insurance laws. Retrieved from https://www.reproductivefacts.org/resources/state-infertility-insurance-laws/

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) . (2021). AWHONN position statement: Infertility treatment and fertility preservation. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN), 50(1), 116–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2020.12.001

Barrett

E. A. M.

(1998). Barrett PKPCT VII.

Barrett

E. A. M.

(2010). Power as knowing participation in change: What's new and what's next. Nursing Science Quarterly, 23(1), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318409353797

Barrett

E. A. M.

(2015). Barrett/Malinski PKPCT Short Form 3.

Barrett

E. A. M.

(2020). Barrett's theory of power as knowing participation in change. In Smith

M. C.

(Ed.), Nursing theories and nursing practice ( 5th ed., pp. 479–491). Philadelphia PA: F. A. Davis.

Barrett

E. A. M.

Malinski

(2016). Barrett/Malinski PKPCT Short Form 3 Scoring Guide.

10.

Butcher

H. K.

(2006). Unitary pattern-based praxis: A nexus of Rogerian cosmology, philosophy, and science. Visions: The Journal of Rogerian Nursing Science, 14(2), 8–33. http://www.societyofrogerianscholars.org/visions.html.

11.

Butcher

H. K.

Bulechek

G. M.

Dochterman

J. M. M.

Wagner

C. M.

(2019). Nursing interventions classification (NIC). 7th, St. Louis MO: Elsevier Health Sciences.

12.

Butcher

H. K.

Malinski

V. M.

(2020). Martha E. Rogers’ science of unitary human beings. In Smith

M. C.

(Ed.), Nursing theories and nursing practice ( 5th ed., pp. 237–257). Philadelphia PA: F. A. Davis.

13.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . (2019.). Key statistics from National Survey of Family Growth – I Listing. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/i_2015-2017.htm#infertility

14.

Dishuck

C. A.

Perchick

J. D.

Porter

K. K.

Gunn

D. D.

(2019). Advanced imaging in female infertility. Current Urology Reports, 20, 77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-019-0942-0

15.

Farquhar

Marjoribanks

(2018). Assisted reproductive technology: An overview of Cochrane Reviews. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010537.pub5

16.

Fawcett

(2018). Barrett's theory of power as knowing participation in change theory. https://nursology.net/nurse-theorists-and-their-work/theory-of-power-as-knowing-participation-in-change/

17.

Fawcett

Zhang

(2021). Thoughts about power. Nursing Science Quarterly, 34(1), 93–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318420965218

18.

Hanson

Johnstone

Dorais

Silver

Peterson

C. M.

Hotaling

(2017). Female infertility, fertility-associated diagnoses, and comorbidities: A review. Journal of Assisted Reproduction & Genetics, 34, 167–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-016-0836-8

19.

Herdman

T. H.

Kamitsuru

(Eds.) (2018). NANDA International, Inc. Nursing Diagnoses: Definitions and classifications 2018–2020 (11th ed). Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme.

20.

Kan

Gorkem

Baser

Alkilic

(2020). Impact of anxiety levels on difficulty of intrauterine insemination and treatment outcomes. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Research, 46, 2059–2065. https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.14398

21.

Kim

T. S.

(2009). The theory of power as knowing participation in change: A literature review update. Visions: The Journal of Rogerian Science, 16(1), 19–39. http://www.societyofrogerianscholars.org/visions.html.

22.

Kim

J. H.

Shin

H. S.

Yun

E. K.

(2018). A dyadic approach to infertility stress, marital adjustment, and depression on quality of life in infertile couples. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 36(1), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010116675987

23.

Mancuso

A. C.

Summers

K. M.

Mengeling

M. A.

Torner

J. C.

Ryan

G. L.

Sadler

A. G.

(2020). Infertility and health-related quality of life in United States Women Veterans. Journal of Women's Health, 29, 412–419. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2019.7798

24.

Moorhead

Johnson

Maas

M. L.

Swanson

(2018). Nursing outcomes classification (NOC): Measurement of health outcomes. 6th, St. Louis: Elsevier Health Sciences.

25.

Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH) . (2017). Position statement: Healthcare for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. https://www.npwh.org/pages/publications/positionstatements

26.

Ozan

Y. D.

Okumus

(2017). Effects of nursing care based on Watson's theory of human caring, anxiety, distress, and coping when infertility treatment fails: A randomized control trial. Journal of Caring Science, 6(2), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.15171/jcs.2017.010

27.

Phillips

J. R.

(2013). Creating an epiphany with Martha E. Rogers, Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 241–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318413489181

28.

Phillips

J. R.

(2017). New Rogerian theoretical thinking about unitary science. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 223–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318417708411

29.

Phillips

J. R.

(2019). Unitariology and the changing frontiers of the science of unitary human beings. Nursing Science Quarterly, 32(3), 207–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318419845404

30.

Poornima

Daram

Devaki

R. K.

Qurratulain

(2020). Chromosomal abnormalities in couples with primary and secondary infertility: Genetic counseling for assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Journal of Reproduction & Infertility, 22, 269–274. https://doi.org/10.18502/jri.v21i4.4331

31.

Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) . (2020). Evidence-based treatments for couples with unexplained infertility: A guideline. Fertility & Sterility, 113(2), 305–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.10.014

32.

Rogers

M. E.

(1992). Nursing science and the space age. Nursing Science Quarterly, 5(1), 27–34.

33.

Romeiro

Caldeira

(2019). The human responses and nursing diagnoses of those living with infertility: A qualitative systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 30(3), 173–189

34.

Sauvé

Péloquin

Brassard

(2020). Moving forward together, stronger, closer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of marital benefits in infertile couples. Journal of Health Psychology, 25, 1532–1542. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318764283

35.

Smith

M. C.

(2020). Nursing theories and nursing practice (5th ed.). Philadelphia PA: F.A. Davis.

36.

Stevenson

E. L.

Hershberger

P. E.

Bergh

P. A.

(2016). Evidence-based care for couples with infertility. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN), 45, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2015.10.006

37.

Thable

Duff

Dika

(2020). Infertility management in primary care. The Nurse Practitioner, 45(5), 48–54. https://doi/org/10.1097/01.NPR.0000660356.18430.0a

38.

Vaughan

(2017). Evaluation of women with infertility. Women's Healthcare, 12–17. https://www.npwomenshealthcare.com/evaluation-women-infertility/.

39.

World Health Organization . (2020). Fact sheet: Infertility. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility

40.

Zaidouni

Quasmani

Benbella

Kasouati

Bezad

(2019). The effect of nursing consultation based on Orem's theory of self-care and Bandura's concept on infertility stress. Journal of Human Reproductive Science, 12(3), 247–254. https://doi.org/10.4103/jhrs.JHRS_159_18

41.

Zurlo

M. C.

Cattaneo Della Volta

M. F.

Vallone

(2018). Predictors of quality of life and psychological health in infertile couples: The moderating role of duration of infertility. Quality of Life Research, 27, 945–954.