Young women’s opinions on the use of a blood test to predict the possibility of premature ovarian failure: a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1. Interview guide.

Main concepts	Questions
Introductory remarks about this research project	Thank you for taking part in the survey. All feedback will be anonymous. I am curious about your experiences, opinions and ideas. That way I can gather a significant amount of information for this study. Your story is important to me. Do you give permission for the interview to be recorded? Do you have an hour for this interview? (The researcher introduces herself) (The interviewer explains the reasons for this research.)
Fertility	Do you think about fertility? What is the reason you are thinking about this subject? What do you know about fertility/infertility? How is your situation at home? What is your marital status? (Cohabitating, single, long-distance relationship) How important is fertility for you? Would you like to have children? Why/why not? Which barriers and facilitators play a role in your decision? (Age/career/partner/finances/religion) Do your friends or family suffer from fertility problems? (Friends/parents/aunts) Does this affect your way of thinking about fertility or infertility?
Fertility preservation	What do you know about fertility preservation? Do you know which fertility treatments there are? What do you think of these fertility treatments? What are the benefits of these fertility treatments? What are the disadvantages of these fertility treatments? When there are costs involved with the treatment, what do you think? Would you mind that?
Considering the possibility of predicting POF	What do you know about premature ovarian failure (premature menopause, when the final menstrual period occurs before the age of 40)? What do you think about that? What are the consequences of premature ovarian failure? Do you know people who have premature ovarian failure? How do you view fertility treatments such as storing egg cells, ovarian tissue or embryos? Suppose that in the future it will be possible, with a simple blood test, to predict premature ovarian failure. Are you then willing to use the AMH test to predict POF? At what age would you like to do this test? What would you do with the result of the test?
Concluding remarks	This concludes this interview. Do you have any questions? If you have any questions later on, you can always contact me.

Table 2. COREQ checklist qualitative research reporting.

Domain 1: Research team and reflexivity Personal characteristics
1. Interviewer	AG conducted the face-to-face interview
2. Credentials	AG: MSc. HO: Dr, PhD, RN
3. Occupation	AG: Team manager children department/Nurse HO: Nursing scientist
4. Gender	Female: AG, HO
5. Experience and training	The researchers (AG, HO) had experience with qualitative research methods based on previous research projects. Good clinical practice training.
Relationship with participants
6. Relationship established	No established relationship with the participants.
7. Participant knowledge of the interviewer	No known previous knowledge of the interviewer
8. Interviewer characteristics	No characteristics reported.
Domain 2: Study design Theoretical framework
9. Methodological orientation and theory	Qualitative analysis was guided by the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven (QUAGOL). MAXQDA 12 Standard (Berlin, Germany) program was used to organise and analyse the data.
Participant selection
10. Sampling	Purposeful sampling
11. Method of approach	The participants were approached by email and phone
12. Sample size	15 participants were interviewed, N = 15
13. Non-participation	Inapplicable
Setting
14. Setting of data collection	The interviews took place at school or home setting.
15. Presence of non-participants	No
16. Description of sample	Age, educational level, sexual orientation, marital status, religious. See Tables 3 and 4.
Data collection
17. Interview guide	The questions were based on the literature and the knowledge of the researcher (AG), fertility doctor (HT), and supervisor (HO). The interview guide is enclosed with this article.
18. Repeat interviews	No
19. Audio/visual recording	The interviews were audiotaped.
20. Field notes	Yes, short field notes were made.
21. Duration	The duration of the interviews was ∼40 min.
22. Data saturation	Yes, data saturation was discussed and considered sufficient to perform the analysis.
23. Transcripts returned	No
Domain 3: Analysis and findings
24. Number of data coders	Two researchers (AG and HO) coded the data.
25. Descriptions of the coding tree	The process of analysis consisted of two parts: (1) Preparation of the coding process (five stages). (2) The actual coding process (five stages).
26. Derivation of themes	Themes were derived from the data
27. Software	MAXQDA-12
28. Participant checking	During and at the end of the interview a summary was provided on the main topics, to check if the received information was well interpreted by AG.
Reporting
29. Quotations presented	Yes, age and education identified the participants.
30. Data and findings consistent	Yes
31. Clarity of major themes	Major themes are presented.
32. Clarity of minor themes	Themes are categorised.

Table 3. Demographic characteristics of participants (n = 15).

Name	Age (years)	Education level	Sexual orientation	Marital status	Religion
Anne	24	University	Heterosexual	Cohabiting	Catholic
Birgitte	25	University	Heterosexual	Single	None
Christel	24	University	Heterosexual	Single	None
Denise	28	University	Heterosexual	Long-distance relationship	None
Evelien	26	University	Heterosexual	Single	Catholic
Femke	23	Higher professional school	Heterosexual	Cohabiting	Catholic
Frederike	25	Higher professional school	Heterosexual	Long-distance relationship	Catholic
Karlijn	24	Higher professional school	Heterosexual	Single	Catholic
Katie	26	Higher professional school	Heterosexual	Cohabiting	None
Lenne	27	Higher professional school	Homosexual	Cohabiting	None
Amira	19	Medium professional school	Heterosexual	Long-distance relationship	Muslim
Marja	21	Medium professional school	Heterosexual	Long-distance relationship	None
Monique	21	Medium professional school	Heterosexual	Single	None
Elif	22	Medium professional school	Heterosexual	Long-distance relationship	Muslim
Sanne	23	Medium professional school	Heterosexual	Single	None

Table 4. Characteristics of the participants (n = 15).

Characteristics	N
Weekly smoking use >10 cigarettes	3
Weekly alcohol use >4 glasses	8
Family history with fertility problems	0
Employment full-time	10

Figure 1. The overarching theme was ‘considering the possibility of predicting POF’ and the three interpretive themes were ‘limited fertility knowledge,’ ‘preconditions for pregnancy’ and ’desire to have children’.