The Perspective of Patients and Health Professionals on the Prioritization of Assisted Reproductive Techniques. The PRIOFER Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Description of the Hypothetical Profile of Patients on a Waiting List for Elective Procedures with Three Possible Degrees of Functional Severity (1-A Shows the Definition of Each Profile for Each Procedure and 1-b Shows a Summary of Defined Procedures, Profiles and Degrees)

(A)
(1)Intervention: Knee arthroplasty (KA)
KA1:Male, 60 years old, farmer. He presents intense pain in his right knee that impedes walking, worsens with exertion and requires continuous analgesic treatment for 2 years.
KA2: Male, 70 years old, retired. He presents chronic moderate pain, which sometimes impedes walking and requires sporadic analgesics.
KA3: Male, 62 years old, civil servant. He presents mild knee pain that worsens with moderate exertion. He has not been incapacitated for daily and/or work activities.
(2)Intervention: Cataract surgery (CS)
CS1: Woman, 70 years old, lives with her husband, who partially depends on her. She has severe vision loss with marked worsening in the last year. She is expected to have a moderate total visual recovery after surgery.
CS2: Male, 65 years old, lives with his wife. He has moderate vision loss and needs help to walk (cane, walker) to avoid falls. Moderate visual recovery is expected after surgery.
CS3: Woman, 79 years old, lives in a nursing home. She has mild vision loss, but it does not impede her daily activities. A high visual recovery is expected after surgery.
(3)Intervention: Varicose vein surgery (VS)
VS1: Male, 60 years old. Supermarket cashier. High degree of impairment of quality of life: he presents intense pain and frequent swelling in left leg in addition to painful lameness with some frequency. He requires compression stockings. He has large varicose veins and suffered an episode of thrombosis that required intervention.
VS2: Male, 60 years old. Car salesman. Moderate degree of impairment of quality of life: pain and swelling. Requires compression socks. Normal varicose veins, without complications.
VS3: Male, 55 years old. Bank worker. With low degree of impairment of quality of life: he usually has tingling sensation and cramps in his legs, as well as sporadic swelling that improves with elevation of the limbs. Normal varicose veins, without complications. He plays sports without limitations.
(4)Intervention: Assisted reproductive treatment (ART)
ART1: Woman, 39 years old, on waiting list for 12 months for Assisted Reproduction treatment. With a history of endometriosis. She has low ovarian reserve*
ART2: Female, 36 years old, on waiting list for 12 months for Assisted Reproduction treatment. With a history of mild endometriosis. She has the expected ovarian reserve* for her age
ART3: Female, 32 years old, on waiting list for 12 months for Assisted Reproduction treatment. No previous gynecological disease. She has normal ovarian reserve*.
(B)
Intervention	Profile 3	Profile 2	Profile 1
Assisted reproductive treatment	ART3	ART2	ART1
Knee Arthroplasty	KA3	KA2	KA1
Cataract surgery	CS3	CS2	CS1
Varicose vein surgery	VS3	VS2	VS1

Notes: *Ovarian reserve refers to the reproductive potential left within a woman’s two ovaries based on number and quality of eggs. *Degrees of functional severity more (1), medium (2), and less (3) affectation.

Table 2 Description of Demographic Characteristics of the Study Population

Patients’ Characteristics
Age (mean, SD) (years)	37.4	4.4
Women (%, n)	98.0%	96
Married or with a partner (%, n)	87.8%	86
Number of children (%, n)
Without children	70.4%	69
One child or more	29.6%	29
Previously received fertility treatment/ovarian preservation treatment (%, n)	83.7%	82
Currently receiving fertility treatment / ovarian preservation (%, n)	52.0%	51
Currently on the waiting list for fertility/ovarian preservation treatment (%, n)	22.4%	22
In the future, planning receives fertility/ovarian preservation treatment (%, n)	78.6%	77
Professionals’ characteristics
Age (mean, SD) (years)	48.1	9.4
Women (%, n)	72.3%	60
Specialty (%, n)
Biology	18.1%	15
Gynecology	81.9%	68
Experience in ARUs (mean, SD) (years)	15.5	8.4
Sector: private and public health (%, n)	65.1%	54
<25% on public health	31.5%	17
25–50% on public health	5.6%	3
50–75% on public health	31.5%	17
>75% on public health	31.5%	17
Sector: public health (%, n)	34.9%	29

Abbreviations: SD, deviation standard; n, number.

Figure 1 Comparison between patients and professionals regarding prioritization results (most to least important) by type of surgical interventions (Score toward +1 indicated as highest priority and when score towards −1 indicated as lowest priority on waiting list).

Figure 2 Comparison between patients and professionals regarding prioritization results (most to least important) by type of surgical interventions and by severity degrees (Score toward +1 indicated as highest priority and when score towards −1 indicated as lowest priority on waiting list).

Figure 3 Answers to ad-hoc questionnaire by patients and professionals in arus on the impact of the pandemic on art service management (*p-value<0.05).