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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the lived experience of Caribbean women who failed In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Treatment.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to identify the related themes that emerged related to Caribbean women’s life with failed IVF treatment.
Significance: There is an urgent need for healthcare professionals to be educated about the fact that infertility is a disease process like any other defined illness that necessitates clinical evaluation, diagnosis, planning and treatment. Ethnic minorities, like the Caribbean female population, have been seeking IVF treatment, yet there is paucity in the nursing literature exploring this phenomenon.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of Caribbean women who failed IVF treatment.
Methods: A qualitative methodology in the tradition of phenomenology was warranted to answer the research question, “What is the lived experience of Caribbean women who failed IVF treatment?” The hermeneutic phenomenological approach was utilized. Criterion sampling was utilized to select 12 women who self-identified as having failed at least one IVF treatment in the last three years, prior to initiation of the study, residing in south Florida, at least 18 years of age, able to speak and read English, and willing to speak about their experience of failed IVF treatment were interviewed. Data was analyzed following the van Manen approach.
Results: The related themes of disintegrating, disheartening, perpetuating, and guarding emerged as a total representation of the Caribbean women’s life with failed IVF treatment.
Implications: This research study chiefly exposed the depth of the challenges confronting Caribbean women with failed IVF treatment. The findings clearly illustrated a fundamental need for healthcare professionals to become more knowledgeable about the pathogenesis of infertility, its treatment process, and the challenges that arise from treatment failure. Furthermore, on a global perspective, it is imperative for healthcare professionals to recognize that failing IVF treatment is classified as experiencing a trauma, which necessitates the critical need for more awareness in order to provide effective interventions.
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