以網路提供不孕患者健康照護資訊與心理社會支持

The Provision of Healthcare Information and Psychosocial Support to Infertile Couples through the Internet

台灣約有10%-15%的夫妻面臨不孕的困擾，在尋求治療的過程中，往往需要大量資訊協助進行決策；網路已成為患者取得資訊與支持的便利來源，電腦、智慧型手機及行動裝置的日益普及，應用資訊科技於健康照顧將成為趨勢。目前國內對網路健康服務的探討仍屬有限，善用資訊科技提供患者另一種可近性的資源，是健康照護提供者可努力的方向。本文簡介不孕症的定義、原因及治療，說明不孕婦女的壓力，並探討運用網路提升不孕患者之照護品質，期能提供醫護人員發展網路介入服務之參考。

Approximately 10% to 15% of couples encounter infertility problems in Taiwan. Infertile couples need to search for a lot of information before making a decision regarding their medical treatment plans; therefore, the internet has become one of the best tools for obtaining such information and accessing psychosocial support resources, such as healthcare databases, expert forums or blogs, and support communities. Internet-based interventions may provide infertile couples with healthcare information and psychosocial support to fulfill their individualized care needs, enhance their self-efficacy and problem-solving abilities, and cope effectively with their physical and psychological stress due to infertility. As internet access, computers, and smart phones/mobile devices become more popular, informational technologies applied to healthcare delivery have become a trend. Currently, our understanding of applying information from the internet to healthcare delivery remains limited. Healthcare providers may endeavor to provide infertile couples with innovative, accessible, and effective ways to obtain healthcare resources through informational technologies. This article briefly introduces the definition of infertility, explains its causes and treatments, describes the psychosocial stresses that infertile couples may face, and explores how to utilize internet resources to improve the quality of care for infertile couples. Hopefully, this article may serve as a reference for healthcare providers for developing internet-based care interventions for infertile couples.