Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective

Background: Fertility physicians are gatekeepers of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and have immediate control over access to fertility care. However, little is understood about their attitudes and willingness to provide and support different procedures. Therefore, we examined fertility physi...

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Main Authors: Raweena Pawa, Lucksika Udomsrisumran, Sorapop Kiatpongsan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: World Scientific Publishing 2020-06-01
Series:Fertility & Reproduction
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/epdf/10.1142/S2661318220500097
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author Raweena Pawa
Lucksika Udomsrisumran
Sorapop Kiatpongsan
author_facet Raweena Pawa
Lucksika Udomsrisumran
Sorapop Kiatpongsan
author_sort Raweena Pawa
collection DOAJ
description Background: Fertility physicians are gatekeepers of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and have immediate control over access to fertility care. However, little is understood about their attitudes and willingness to provide and support different procedures. Therefore, we examined fertility physicians’ perspectives on support of public funding and willingness to provide care in various scenarios. Methods: We invited fertility physicians attending the 8th Congress of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE 2018) to participate in a 10-minute survey. Participants completed the survey anonymously and in private. Results: 78 out of 105 fertility physicians from 12 countries completed the survey (response rate = 74.3%). Mean age was 44.9 years (SD = 11.1). A majority of respondents supported public funding for ART: 76.3% for intrauterine insemination and 80.5% for in vitro fertilization. For controversial procedures, a majority agreed to provide social egg freezing (88.5%) compared to sex selection (25.6%) and gene editing for nonmedical reasons (19.2%), p < 0.001 for both comparisons. Support for public funding was also significantly higher for social egg freezing (51.3%) compared to sex selection (23.1%) and gene editing for nonmedical reasons (20.5%), p < 0.001 for both comparisons. For eligibility criteria, willingness to provide treatment to single women (50.0%) was significantly higher compared to other nontraditional family structures — single men (33.3%), p < 0.001, male homosexual couples (33.3%), p = 0.002, female homosexual couples (32.1%), p = 0.001 and unmarried heterosexual couples (32.1%), p = 0.004. Consistently, support for public finding was significantly higher for single women (32.1%) compared to single men (23.1%), p = 0.013, male homosexual couples (20.5%), p = 0.020, and unmarried heterosexual couples (20.5%), p = 0.006. Conclusions: These results show support for public funding and conservative opinions toward ART for nontraditional family structures among physicians in the Asia-Pacific region.
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spelling doaj.art-05f4c91f0d3c40aeb22cc0e2931798312022-12-21T22:47:00ZengWorld Scientific PublishingFertility & Reproduction2661-31822661-31742020-06-0122616910.1142/S266131822050009710.1142/S2661318220500097Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific PerspectiveRaweena Pawa0Lucksika Udomsrisumran1Sorapop Kiatpongsan2College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandCollege of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandCollege of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandBackground: Fertility physicians are gatekeepers of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and have immediate control over access to fertility care. However, little is understood about their attitudes and willingness to provide and support different procedures. Therefore, we examined fertility physicians’ perspectives on support of public funding and willingness to provide care in various scenarios. Methods: We invited fertility physicians attending the 8th Congress of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE 2018) to participate in a 10-minute survey. Participants completed the survey anonymously and in private. Results: 78 out of 105 fertility physicians from 12 countries completed the survey (response rate = 74.3%). Mean age was 44.9 years (SD = 11.1). A majority of respondents supported public funding for ART: 76.3% for intrauterine insemination and 80.5% for in vitro fertilization. For controversial procedures, a majority agreed to provide social egg freezing (88.5%) compared to sex selection (25.6%) and gene editing for nonmedical reasons (19.2%), p < 0.001 for both comparisons. Support for public funding was also significantly higher for social egg freezing (51.3%) compared to sex selection (23.1%) and gene editing for nonmedical reasons (20.5%), p < 0.001 for both comparisons. For eligibility criteria, willingness to provide treatment to single women (50.0%) was significantly higher compared to other nontraditional family structures — single men (33.3%), p < 0.001, male homosexual couples (33.3%), p = 0.002, female homosexual couples (32.1%), p = 0.001 and unmarried heterosexual couples (32.1%), p = 0.004. Consistently, support for public finding was significantly higher for single women (32.1%) compared to single men (23.1%), p = 0.013, male homosexual couples (20.5%), p = 0.020, and unmarried heterosexual couples (20.5%), p = 0.006. Conclusions: These results show support for public funding and conservative opinions toward ART for nontraditional family structures among physicians in the Asia-Pacific region.http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/epdf/10.1142/S2661318220500097accessartphysicianasia-pacificattitudesopinions
spellingShingle Raweena Pawa
Lucksika Udomsrisumran
Sorapop Kiatpongsan
Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
Fertility & Reproduction
access
art
physician
asia-pacific
attitudes
opinions
title Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
title_full Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
title_fullStr Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
title_short Fertility Physicians’ Opinions and Attitudes on Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Asia-Pacific Perspective
title_sort fertility physicians opinions and attitudes on access to assisted reproductive technology an asia pacific perspective
topic access
art
physician
asia-pacific
attitudes
opinions
url http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/epdf/10.1142/S2661318220500097
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AT sorapopkiatpongsan fertilityphysiciansopinionsandattitudesonaccesstoassistedreproductivetechnologyanasiapacificperspective