"Who needs an app? Fertility patients' use of a novel mobile health app".

Objective: The number of couples experiencing infertility treatment has increased, as has the number of women and men experiencing infertility treatment-related stress and anxiety. Therefore, there is a need to provide information and support to both men and women facing fertility concerns. To achieve this goal, we designed a mhealth app, Infotility, that provided men and women with tailored medical, psychosocial, lifestyle, and legal information. Methods: This study specifically examined how fertility factors (e.g. time in infertility treatment, parity), socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. gender, education, immigrant status), and mental health characteristics (e.g. stress, depression, anxiety, fertility-related quality of life) were related to male and female fertility patients' patterns of use of the Infotility app. Results: Overall, the lifestyle section of the app was the most highly used section by both men and women. In addition, women without children and highly educated women were more likely to use Infotility. No demographic, mental health or fertility characteristics were significantly associated with app use for men. Conclusion: This study shows the feasibility of a mhealth app to address the psychosocial and informational needs of fertility patients.

Socio-economic disadvantage and resource distribution for mental health care: a model proposal and example application for Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: A spreadsheet-based model for supporting equitable mental health resource distribution in Australia was developed, based on the Australian Health Survey (AHS) psychological distress findings associated with area socio-economic disadvantage (SED). An illustrative application is presented. METHOD: Stratum-specific psychological-distress rates for area SED quintiles are applied to local government areas, catchment areas and local health networks (LHNs). A case study applies the model to Victoria, including examining recommendations in the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health Services (RCVMHS) 2019 interim report for increases to bed stock in two LHNs. RESULTS: Need-adjusted demand estimates considered as a ratio of raw population proportions for catchments range between 0.6 to 1.4 in Victoria. Applying the formula to the Royal Commission recommendations suggests the proposed distribution of beds is a reasonable correction for these two LHNs and indicates next expansion priorities for more equitable distribution to other LHNs. CONCLUSIONS: The spreadsheet, adaptable for other states and territories, could complement National Mental Health Services Planning Framework outputs and assist in evaluation, for instance, determining potential supply shortages in the tele-mental-health response to COVID-19. We outline research directions including consideration of the moral bases of value judgements and identification of other variables including their use in parameterisation and calibration.

Fertility patients demonstrate an unmet need for the provision of psychological information: A cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the provision of information by health care providers (HCPs) to fertility patients about accessing psychological resources. METHODS: This study utilized data from a cross-sectional survey of 659 male and female patients seeking fertility treatment at clinics in Toronto and Montreal. Regression analyses were used to assess if sociodemographic and treatment variables were associated with the receipt of information, the desire for information, the helpfulness of the information, and the likelihood that participants had sought counselling. RESULTS: The majority of respondents (79.8%) said that their HCP had not given them information about accessing psychological resources. Of the patients who did not receive this information, most (60%) said that they wanted it. Regression analysis revealed that immigrants, women, and patients with higher perceived stress scores were significantly more likely to desire this information. Furthermore, having received this information was associated with increased odds of counselling seeking (odds ratio = 3.31, p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Fertility patients demonstrated an unmet need for information about accessing psychological resources, and HCPs may play an integral role in bridging this information gap. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To improve the patient-centeredness of fertility care, HCPs should be proactive in informing all patients about how to access psychological resources.