The difference in patient-centered medical experiences between public fertility care and private fertility care in China: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

High-quality fertility care should be effective and safe but also patient-centered. We analyzed the difference in the patient-centered medical experiences between public and private fertility care in China, aiming to provide data support and a decision-making basis for optimizing the allocation of reproductive health care resources, and improving patient experience and compliance.

METHODS

In this study, a multicenter cross sectional study was distributed among 1900 infertile Chinese patients at 10 reproductive medicine centres from July 2021 to April 2022. Patients' experiences of infertility patients were analyzed. Univariate analysis and multivariate regression model analysis were used to analysis the factors influencing the differences in patients' medical experiences between public and private fertility care.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was completed by 1694 infertile couples (response rate of 89.16%) from 10 centres. Of the eight subscales, 'care organization' received the best ratings, and 'information' received the worst ratings. The total score of private fertility care was significantly higher than that of public fertility care. The subscale scores for 'accessibility', 'information' and 'continuity and transition' were significantly higher for private fertility care than for public fertility care. Further univariate and multivariate analyses found that the distance from the hospital, family income and pregnancy status were the main influencing factors of the patients' medical experiences with public fertility care, while the stage of fertility treatment, infertility duration and pregnancy status were the main influencing factors of the patients' medical experiences with private fertility care.

CONCLUSIONS

The subscale of patient-centered medical experiences for 'accessibility', 'information' and 'continuity and transition' were significantly higher for private fertility care than for public fertility care.