Burden of Care: Patient Reported Indirect Costs of Infertility and Fertility Care, A Qualitative Assessment

In this study, we held group discussions with patients undergoing fertility care to explore the burden of fertility treatment. Patients reported spending considerable time and money on tasks related to their fertility care. They shared the emotional and mental burden of this care, related to uncertainty about the future, lack of control, and isolation and shared impacts on their work and career. Our findings suggest that the burden of treatment framework, typically used for chronic health conditions, is also applicable to fertility care. This structured framework may be used to inform and measure patient-centered solutions to fertility care.