Decisional conflicts of male patients undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology: a qualitative study

This study aimed to clarify the decisional conflicts of men undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). We used a qualitative descriptive research design. The participants were 10 men who had received ART. Data were collected from June to August 2023 by conducting semistructured interviews using a guide. The inclusion criteria were male patients who have experienced various infertility treatments and are currently receiving ART and within 5 years of their infertility treatment.

The participants were 10 men undergoing outpatient infertility treatment at two infertility treatment facilities in Tokyo. Four categories of decisional conflicts were extracted: "Uncertainty whether ART is the best treatment", "Lack of clarity as to what is the most important considering the risks and benefits of ART", "No information on the benefits and risks of ART to decide whether to continue or terminate ART", and "Insufficient information on other male infertile patients' therapeutic decisions". Men undergoing ART experienced different decisional conflicts as specified above. Identification of the main categories and subcategories of these decisional conflicts may be useful for the future development of decision-making support for men undergoing ART.