Abstract
Background: Globally, 48.5 million couples experience infertility.1 Experiencing infertility and miscarriage is a traumatic experience for many couples.2 Whenever couples engage in the healthcare setting to address issues of infertility, distress, and re-traumatization can occur.3 To provide patient-centered care, the healthcare team, especially nurses, needs to acknowledge infertility as a traumatic experience in reproductive health settings.4 However, there is limited knowledge of how nursing students conceptualize trauma in relation to infertility. This knowledge will be implemented into the Reproductive Health Care course in a pre-licensure program.
Aim: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to obtain insight into nursing students' knowledge of trauma related to infertility.
Methodology: Pre-lecture and post-lecture assessments were conducted with 43 baccalaureate students in a Reproductive Health Care course during the second semester. Students also watched a short video story of a couple’s experience with infertility. Participation was voluntary. Findings from assessments shared by students were summarized.
Results: Pre-lecture assessments revealed that more than 50% of students could define infertility but could not describe the support that nurses need to offer to couples to minimize re-traumatization. In the post-lecture assessments, students described how couples should experience minimized re-traumatization. Related themes mentioned were that there are many options to treat infertility, and students’ knowledge of infertility has broadened.
Conclusion: The incorporation of trauma-informed care (TIC) into lectures is a valuable way of facilitating student learning about how to minimize re-traumatization in patients.
Notes
References:
World Health Organization. (2023). Infertility prevalence estimates, 1990–2021. World Health Organization.
Schwerdtfeger, K. L., & Shreffler, K. M. (2009). Trauma of pregnancy loss and infertility among mothers and involuntarily childless women in the United States. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 14(3), 211-227.
Goddard, A., Jones, R. W., Esposito, D., & Janicek, E. (2021). Trauma informed education in nursing: A call for action. Nurse Education Today, 101,104880–104880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104880
Nagle-Yang, S., Sachdeva, J., Zhao, L. X., Shenai, N., Shirvani, N., Worley, L. L., ... & Byatt, N. (2022). Trauma-informed care for obstetric and gynecologic settings. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 26(12), 2362-2369.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Curriculum Development, Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Trauma-informed Care, Infertility, Patient-Centered Care
Recommended Citation
Eloi, Hildreth; Acorda, Darlene E.; and Gallagher, Martina Raquel, "Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Knowledge of Trauma-Informed Care and Infertility" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 176.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/posters_2025/176
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Knowledge of Trauma-Informed Care and Infertility
Seattle, Washington, USA
Background: Globally, 48.5 million couples experience infertility.1 Experiencing infertility and miscarriage is a traumatic experience for many couples.2 Whenever couples engage in the healthcare setting to address issues of infertility, distress, and re-traumatization can occur.3 To provide patient-centered care, the healthcare team, especially nurses, needs to acknowledge infertility as a traumatic experience in reproductive health settings.4 However, there is limited knowledge of how nursing students conceptualize trauma in relation to infertility. This knowledge will be implemented into the Reproductive Health Care course in a pre-licensure program.
Aim: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to obtain insight into nursing students' knowledge of trauma related to infertility.
Methodology: Pre-lecture and post-lecture assessments were conducted with 43 baccalaureate students in a Reproductive Health Care course during the second semester. Students also watched a short video story of a couple’s experience with infertility. Participation was voluntary. Findings from assessments shared by students were summarized.
Results: Pre-lecture assessments revealed that more than 50% of students could define infertility but could not describe the support that nurses need to offer to couples to minimize re-traumatization. In the post-lecture assessments, students described how couples should experience minimized re-traumatization. Related themes mentioned were that there are many options to treat infertility, and students’ knowledge of infertility has broadened.
Conclusion: The incorporation of trauma-informed care (TIC) into lectures is a valuable way of facilitating student learning about how to minimize re-traumatization in patients.
Description
Past trauma experienced by patients in the healthcare setting can become a long-term problem. This can be expressed verbally or emotionally when future care is provided. Patients diagnosed with infertility-related issues struggle with trauma related to the condition. Baccalaureate nursing students need to be educated on trauma-informed care to effectively manage patients already traumatized and to prevent re-traumatization.