Satisfaction with in vitro fertilization treatment: patients’ experiences and professionals’ perceptions

Table 1 Patients -Socio-Demographic and Health Characteristics of the Sample (%) ^a

Variables	Females	Males
Age
21–18	-	-
30–22	29.58	16.13
35–31	28.87	40.32
40–36	25.35	32.26
51–41	16.20	11.29
+ 52	-	-
Degree of Religious Observance ^b
Religious ^c - Variety of Orthodox	20.42	25.81
Secular ^d - Not religiously observant	49.30	40.32
Traditional ^f - Observant of some of the religious tradition	30.28	33.87
Education
Elementary School - 1^st grade – 9^th grade, age range 6–15	2.11	3.23
High School - 10^th grade – 12^th grade, age range 16–18	32.39	51.61
Academic degree- College, university	65.49	45.16
Occupation
Academic ^f - Professions that require to earn an academic degree	46.48	40.32
Non-professional ^g - Unskilled labor	37.32	51.61
Professional non-academic ^h - Skilled labor	16.20	8.06
Personal monthly income $
< $1,902	56.34	41.94
$1,902–$3,533	32.39	37.10
$3,533+	11.27	20.97
Household monthly income $
< $2,717	39.44	48.39
$2,717–$5,435	42.25	35.48
$5,435+	18.31	16.13
Family Status
Unmarried	16.20
Married	83.80	100.0
# of Children Not From IVF
0	78.87	83.87
1	17.61	8.06
2+	3.52	8.06
# of Children From IVF
0	71.83	69.35
1	19.72	19.35
2+	8.45	11.29
Years of infertility
0–1	38.03	32.26
1–2	34.51	41.94
2–3	16.90	11.29
3–4	5.63	6.45
4–5	2.82	6.45
5–10	2.11	1.61
Diagnosed infertility
Endometriosis	5.63	4.84
Male factor	32.39	48.39
Mechanical reason - tubal factor	17.61	24.19
Unexplained infertility	44.37	22.58
Number of fertility treatments
1–2	40.85	51.61
3–4	17.61	17.74
5–7	24.65	16.13
8–10	10.56	8.06
11+	6.34	6.45

^a[37] “With kind permission from Springer Science + Business Media: Journal of Public Health, Economic implications of in vitro fertilization using willingness to pay, 21(6), 2013, 535-557, Uriel Spiegel & Limor Dina Gonen & Joseph Templeman, Appendix 2: Tables 18 and 19, and any original (first) copyright notice displayed with material”
^bIn Israel, religious observance is a demographic factor that is used widely as a way for people to define themselves regarding their beliefs and practices. This is relevant when dealing with matters of reproduction, which are regulated and circumscribed by religious law and doctrine
^cThe term ‘religious’ refers to Jews who follow the traditional Jewish religion
^dThe term “secular” is not strictly defined and it can mean either “not religious” or “convinced atheists”
^eThe term ‘traditional’ covers a wide range of ideologies and levels of observance, and is based on self-definition
^fProfessions that require an academic graduate degree and sometimes additional required professional licensing, registration, and certification to obtain employment (e.g. engineering, law, medicine, nursing, psychology, pharmacy, social work, economics etc.)
^gUnskilled labor, generally characterized by low education levels. Work that requires no specific education or experience
^hSkilled labor that does not require an academic degree but usually requires vocational training (e.g. electrician, mechanic, plumber, welder, etc.)