Lau, Annie Kit Ling

2019-02-15T14:33:02Z

2019-02-15T14:33:02Z

2011

The aim of this study is to explore the way in which Chinese couples experience and make sense of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment. An understanding of how infertile couples experience their infertility and ART treatment is essential if the development of supportive infertility care is to be effective. Experiential accounts of infertile Hong Kong Chinese couples have received little attention in the literature. This study is a phenomenological one, using the Husserlian philosophical approach. A purposive sample of 15 Hong Kong Chinese couples was selected for interview. Each of the participant couples were followed through one treatment cycle and interviewed separately on one, and jointly on two occasions; a total of 60 interviews were obtained. Data was generated from taped interviews and the researcher's field notes. Data was analyzed by using a modified Colaizzi (1978) method. By using a couple-centred approach, rich experiential data was obtained.

Five mega themes emerged from the data: uncertainty posed by infertility, ART as a means to achieve biological parenthood, normalising the ART treatment process, dealing with the treatment outcome and making sense of ART treatment. The data demonstrated that infertility posed uncertainty for the couples and that their intentions for parenthood were shaped by personal, social and cultural factors. The ART process revealed the stressful nature of the treatment and how the couples attempted to normalise this by engaging in cognitive, affective and behavioural strategies to deal with the process. When the treatment failed, the couples used selective disclosure and spiritual faith to help them to process and accept their sense of loss. They developed a greater emotional awareness during the course of the treatment and afterwards, found they had gained a better sense of understanding of its complexities and its impact on them. Consequently, the couples began to reffame their lives and reproductive goals. The findings of this thesis will add to existing knowledge of Hong Kong Chinese couples' experiences of infertility and the ART treatment process. The implications for clinical practice, nursing education and research are discussed.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/34945

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2019 Block 22

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Perspectives of Chinese couples on their experience of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy