A Basic Survey of Korean Medicine Doctors to Develop Standard Evaluation Tools for Evaluating of Mental and Physical Function Improvement following Korean Medicine Infertility Treatment

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of Korean Medicine (KM) doctors toward infertility treatment evaluation tools and develop a standard evaluation tool for mental and physical function improvement following Korean medicine treatment. Methods: An online survey (Moaform) was conducted, and responses were analyzed for members of the Society of Korean Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology and KM doctors who participated in the 2021-2022 traditional Korean medicine treatment infertility support program in Gyeonggi-do. Results: In fertility treatment, the most effective indicators that KM doctors wanted to evaluate other than pregnancy and childbirth were reproductive health indicators, overall health improvement, and stress improvement (33.1%, 21.2%, 18.9%). Furthermore, 45.1% of the respondents had experience using the presented infertility stress evaluation tools. For each evaluation tool, 52.1% and 54.6% of the respondents answered that it 'does not reflect the changing circumstances of the times' and that there were 'too many questions'. As for the developing a standard evaluation tool for infertility treatment in KM, KM doctors expected a simple and clear tool focusing on the pregnancy rate. They also wanted the tool to include a reproductive health index, overall function improvement and stress improvements. Conclusions: The survey confirmed the need to evaluate indicators for reproductive health, mental health, and infertility stress in addition to pregnancy rate to assess the effectiveness of KM infertility treatment. It also confirms the necessity of developing an infertility stress evaluation tool with simplified questions that reflects the changing time.

한의 난임 치료의 심신 기능 개선 평가를 위한 표준 평가도구 개발에 대한 임상 한의사 대상 기초 설문조사