The Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) tool: development and general psychometric properties

Objective

To develop the first international instrument to measure fertility quality of life, FertiQoL, in men and women experiencing fertility problems, to evaluate the preliminary psychometric properties of this new tool and to translate FertiQoL into multiple languages.

Design

Survey.

Setting

Online and fertility clinics in USA, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, and United Kingdom.

Participants

A total of 1,414 people with fertility problems.

Intervention(s)

None.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

FertiQoL.

Result(s)

FertiQoL consists of 36 items that assess core (24 items) and treatment-related (10 items) quality of life as well as overall life and physical health (2 items). Cronbach reliability statistics for the Core and Treatment FertiQoL (and subscales) were satisfactory, in the range of 0.72 and 0.92. Sensitivity analyses showed that FertiQoL detected expected relations between quality of life and gender, parity, and support seeking. FertiQoL was translated into 20 languages by the same translation team, with each translation verified by local bilingual fertility experts.

Conclusion(s)

FertiQoL is a reliable measure of the impact of fertility problems and its treatment on quality of life. Future research should establish its use in cross-cultural research and clinical work.