Efficacy of psychosocial interventions for pregnancy rates of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow diagram of study selection.

Table 1. Characteristics of included studies (n = 12).

			Type of treatment
Reference, country	Sample size (n) Mean age (years)	Design	Experimental group	Control group	Number of sessions Intervention duration (weeks) Session duration (minutes/hours)	Intervention timing	Format	Measure scales
Bai et al. [24], China	- Experimental group (n = 58) - Control group (n = 59)	RCT	Brief mindfulness intervention	Routine care	28 4 weeks, 20 ∼ 60 min	- Undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment (before embryo transfer)	Individual	Pregnancy rate
Belevska [25], Macedonia	- Experimental group (n = 32) - Control group (n = 32)	RCT	Psycho-education	Routine care	1 1 h	- At the beginning of the IVF treatment	Individual	Pregnancy rate DASS
Chan et al. [26], China	- Experimental group (n = 69, age = 36) - Control group (n = 115, age = 35)	RCT	The Eastern Body-Mind-Spirit (EBMS) intervention	Routine care	4 4 weeks 3 h	- Before their 1st IVF cycle	Group	STAI Trait-Anxiety Importance of childbearing Pregnancy rate
Chan et al. [27], China	- Experimental group (n = 141) - Control group (n = 110)	RCT	The Eastern Body-Mind-Spirit (EBMS) intervention	Routine care	4 4 weeks 3 h	- Before the start of their IVF treatment	Group	STAI Trait-Anxiety Importance of childbearing Marital Satisfaction BMSWBI Pregnancy rate
De Klerk et al. [28], Netherlands	- Experimental group (n = 22) - Control group (n = 22)	RCT	Psychosocial counseling intervention	Routine care	3 1 h	- Pre-IVF/post-IVF treatment - 6–9 days after the embryo was transferred	Individual	HADS Pregnancy rate
Domar et al. [29], Israel	- Experimental group (n = 46, age = 34) - Control group (n = 51)	RCT	Mind–body program	Routine care	10 10 weeks	- Before their 1st IVF cycle	Group	Pregnancy rate
Domar et al. [30], Israel	- Experimental group (n = 70) - Control group (n = 59)	RCT	Cognitive Coping (positive reappraisal), Relaxation technique	Routine care	14 2 weeks	- Between embryo transfer and 3 days before the pregnancy test	Individual	STAI FertiQol Revised WCCL IES Pregnancy rate
Frederiksen [31], Denmark	- Experimental group (n = 83) - Control group (n = 80)	RCT	Expressive writing intervention	Routine care	3 3 days 20 min	- Undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment	Individual	Pregnancy rate STAI BDI
Gorayeb et al. [32], Brazil	- Experimental group (n = 93) - Control group (n = 95)	RCT	Brief Cognitive Behavioral Intervention	Routine care	5 5 weeks 2 h	- Before the beginning of IVF and ICSI	Group	Pregnancy rate
Kaya et al. [33], Turkey	- Experimental group (n = 26) - Control group (n = 26)	RCT	Health-promoting lifestyle education	Routine care	3 months	- Before the beginning of IVF and ICSI	Group	Pregnancy rate
Panagopoulou et al. [34], Greece	- Experimental group (n = 50) - Control group (n = 48)	RCT	The emotional-writing condition (EC)	Routine care	7 1 week 20 min	- Between the day of the embryo transfer (2–3 days later) and 2 days prior to the pregnancy test	Individual	STAI Pregnancy rate
Tuil et al. [35], Netherlands	- Experimental group (n = 51) - Control group (n = 40)	RCT	Internet access to medical data + communication	Routine care	Freely 2 weeks	- Undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment	Individual	Decision Process Self-Efficacy Scale Visual Analogue Scale ICQ Inventory for Social Support STAI BDI

BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; BMSWBI: Body-Mind-Spirit Well-Being Inventory; DASS: Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale; EBMS: Eastern Body-Mind-Spirit; GHQ: General Health Questionnaire; HADS: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; ICQ: Illness Cognition Questionnaire; IES: Intervention Evaluation Scale; MDS: Marital Distress Scale; PGWBI: Psychological General Well-Being Index; POMS: Profile of Mood States; RCT: randomized controlled trial; STAI: State Trait Anxiety Inventory; WCCL: Ways of Coping Checklist.

Figure 2. Assessment of risk of bias of the included studies.

Figure 4. Funnel plot.

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