Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Health Sciences

.: ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Anxiety and Hopelessness Levels of the Infertile Women During COVID-19 Pandemic and the Associated Factors: Cross-Sectional Research
İnfertil Kadınların COVID-19 Pandemisi Sırasında Anksiyete, Umutsuzluk Düzeyleri ve Etkileyen Faktörler: Kesitsel Bir Araştırma
Bihter AKINa, Mine YILMAZ KOÇAKa
aDepartment of Midwifery, Selçuk University Faculty of Health Sciences, Konya, Türkiye
Turkiye Klinikleri J Health Sci. 2022;7(2):394-402
doi: 10.5336/healthsci.2021-85176
Article Language: EN
Full Text
ABSTRACT
 Objective: The aim was to identify anxiety and hopelessness levels of infertile women during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the factors affecting these variables. Material and Methods: Designed as a descriptive study, the research was conducted from September 20 to November 15 in 2020 (n=231). Women diagnosed with infertility across Türkiye were included in the study. A questionnaire was created on the website 'surveyy.com', and women were asked to respond by sharing the link to the questionnaire via social media groups related to infertility through the researchers' accounts. Results: In the study, it was found that the participant women had high levels of state anxiety and medium levels of hopelessness. As per the multiple linear regression analysis, it was identified that there was a positive association between the anxiety and hopelessness levels of the participant women (p<0.001). 'Education level of the participant women's spouses' and 'state of having pregnancy in the past' had statistically significant associations with women's state anxiety level and hopelessness levels (p<0.0001). It is found that 'whether COVID-19 pandemic affected the infertility treatment' had statistically significant associations with women's state anxiety levels and hopelessness levels (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Considering the pandemic with which we are currently faced and the similar situations with which we are likely to be confronted in the future, it is necessary to have international guidelines and mobile applications which provide measures for protecting the mental health of the women whose infertility treatment processes are interrupted.

Keywords: COVID-19; infertility; anxiety; hopelessness
ÖZET
 Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, infertil kadınların koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 [coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)] pandemisi sırasındaki anksiyete ve umutsuzluk düzeylerini ve bu değişkenleri etkileyen faktörleri belirlemektir. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Tanımlayıcı bir araştırma olarak tasarlanan araştırma, 20 Eylül-15 Kasım 2020 (n=231) tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmaya Türkiye genelinde infertilite tanısı almış kadınlar dâhil edilmiştir. Anketler 'surveyy.com' İnternet adresi üzerinden oluşturulmuş, araştırmacıların hesapları aracılığıyla sosyal medya üzerinden infertilite ile ilgili gruplardan paylaşılarak kadınların cevaplamaları istenmiştir. Bulgular: Araştırmaya katılan kadınların durumluk kaygı düzeylerinin yüksek, umutsuzluk düzeylerinin orta düzeyde olduğu bulundu. Çoklu doğrusal regresyon analizine göre katılımcı kadınların kaygı ve umutsuzluk düzeyleri arasında pozitif yönde bir ilişki olduğu belirlendi (p<0,001). 'Kadınların eşlerinin eğitim düzeyi' ve 'geçmişte gebelik geçirme durumu', kadınların durumluk kaygı düzeyi ve umutsuzluk düzeyleri ile istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişkilere sahipti (p<0,0001). 'COVID-19 pandemisinin infertilite tedavisini etkileyip etkilememesi' durumu ile kadınların durumluk kaygı düzeyleri ve umutsuzluk düzeyleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişkiler bulunmuştur (p<0,0001). Sonuç: Hâlihazırda karşı karşıya olduğumuz pandemi ve gelecekte karşılaşabileceğimiz benzer durumlar göz önüne alındığında, infertilite tedavisi devam etmekte olan kadınların ruh sağlığının korunmasına yönelik önlemleri içeren uluslar arası kılavuzlara ve mobil uygulamalara ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19; infertilite; kaygı; umutsuzluk
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