Male infertility a need for facilitative and supportive nursing care: a literature review

Background
There is good evidence of significant advancement in care options for men and couples dealing with infertility. Despite this, services for infertility are often applied to both men and women without regard to sex and gender differences in psychosocial needs and perceptions. As a result fertility support services may not adequately meet the needs of men, in the case of male factor infertility. Research investigations are required to identify gaps in care and opportunities for improvement as well as assess intervention efficacy in methods to improve male specific fertility care. Findings could also support and guide education to equip nurses with requisite knowledge and skills to provide evidence based care to meet the needs of this specific patient group. The purpose of this literature review was to explore the opportunities for specialist nurses to offer psychological and social support for men as they deal with infertility.

Methods
A PRISMA systematic approach was selected to undertake a literature review of psycho-social support for infertile men and specialist nursing services to explore potential for improved care. A systematic search was conducted in July 2024, using CINAHL, PsycINFO and MEDLINE electronic databases to identify relevant studies published between the years 2020 and 2024. Using different keywords and mesh terms maximised the search return (including: male fertility, infertility, male reproduction, psychological, social care, fertility nursing). Included studies were required to be in English and address the psycho-social needs and care requirements of infertile men; case studies and literature reviews were excluded.

Results
An initial search offered 195 records: 38 remained after eliminating duplicates and a consideration of title, abstracts and reference lists. 30 full text articles were deemed ineligible (not related to the subject under investigation), leaving 8 included studies. Following a thematic review of these studies (n = 8) two themes emerged, that were considered individually and together: (i) social and psychological needs of infertile men; and (ii) specialist nursing services.

Conclusions
The findings from the studies (N = 8) demonstrate that men feel excluded from fertility services that are provided for couples. In particular the psycho-social needs of infertile men require specialist assessment, and interventions including counselling and guidance. Nurses working in fertility clinics with specialist preparation and education should involve men throughout fertility treatments, alongside their partners. In summary infertile men value the opportunity for counselling and psycho-social support services that should promote personal confidence to discuss their infertility with partners and families, without either embarrassment or guilt.