Abstract
Purpose
To characterize the experiences of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) through a qualitative analysis of content shared on Instagram.
Methods
We analyzed Instagram posts from five randomly selected days in February 2020. The hashtag, #ivfcommunity, was selected to identify public posts authored by Instagram’s IVF community members from multiple treatment centers. Text, photos, hashtags, and emojis were collected from 452 included posts and entered into a study-specific database. Using thematic coding, a four-member team initially coded the first day in February. Common themes were agreed upon by all team members, and a preliminary codebook was created for further analysis. The remaining posts were coded by two-member teams who reached a consensus on the multiple themes assigned to each individual post.
Results
Analysis of posts led to the identification of five major themes: documentation of the medical and physical experience of IVF (76.1%), the emotional spectrum (43.1%), social support (49.2%), coping mechanisms (29.9%), and education (receipt, provision) (11.1%).
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that women undergoing IVF often utilize social media to document daily experiences, offer and recognize sources of community support, and provide and receive education regarding their treatments. Given the increased prevalence of mental health conditions, medical providers should explore challenges discussed on online platforms and consider harnessing the supportive nature of online communities to supplement care for IVF patients.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available publicly on the Instagram platform. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (A.J.W.).
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All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by H.R.P., A.M.H., H.M.S., and H.M.L. The manuscript was drafted, revised critically for important intellectual content, and approved by all authors for publication.
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Perone, H.R., Herweck, A.M., Stump, H.M. et al. The virtual infertility community: a qualitative analysis of patient experiences shared on Instagram. J Assist Reprod Genet 38, 613–620 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-02028-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-02028-6