Factors associated with a positive experience at US fertility clinics: the male partner perspective

Objective To determine factors associated with a positive male patient experience (PMPE) at fertility clinics among male patients. Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Not applicable Patients: Male respondents to the FertilityIQ questionnaire ( www.fertilityiq.com ) reviewing the first or only US clinic visited between June 2015 and August 2020. Interventions: None Main outcome measures: PMPE was defined as a score of 9 or 10 out of 10 to the question, “Would you recommend this fertility clinic to a best friend?”. Examined predictors included demographics, payment details, infertility diagnoses, treatment, and outcomes, physician traits, and clinic operations and resources. Multiple imputation was used for missing variables and logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for factors associated with PMPE. Results Of the 657 men included, 60.9% reported a PMPE. Men who felt their doctor was trustworthy (aOR 5.01, 95% CI 0.97–25.93), set realistic expectations (aOR 2.73, 95% CI 1.10–6.80), and was responsive to setbacks (aOR 2.43, 95% CI 1.14–5.18) were more likely to report PMPE. Those who achieved pregnancy after treatment were more likely to report PMPE; however, this was no longer significant on multivariate analysis (aOR 1.30, 95% CI 0.68–2.47). Clinic-related factors, including ease of scheduling appointments (aOR 4.03, 95% CI 1.63–9.97) and availability of same-day appointments (aOR 4.93, 95% CI 1.75–13.86), were associated with PMPE on both univariate and multivariate analysis. LGBTQ respondents were more likely to report PMPE, whereas men with a college degree or higher were less likely to report PMPE; however, sexual orientation (aOR 3.09, 95% CI 0.86–11.06) and higher educational level (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.30–1.10) were not associated with PMPE on multivariate analysis. Conclusion Physician characteristics and clinic characteristics indicative of well-run administration were the most highly predictive of PMPE. By identifying factors that are associated with a PMPE, clinics may be able to optimize the patient experience and improve the quality of infertility care that they provide for both men and women.