Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Comparison of the effect of two methods of counseling (face to face and telephone) on awareness and attitude toward adoption in infertile couples

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Fateme Ahmadi Rezamahaleh
. Talat Khadivzadeh 1
. Seyed Mohsen Asgharinekah 2
. Habibollah Esmaeili 3

1 Associate Professor, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

3 PH.D in Biostatistics, Professor, Social Department of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Many infertile people have heard about adoption, but little is known about the true
meaning of adoption and how it is accepted. Giving the right information about adoption is effective
in making the right decision for couples. As a result, there is a need to intervene and provide training
to improve community attitudes and increase adoption among infertile people. Therefore, the present
study aimed to determine the effect of two counseling methods (face‑to‑face and telephone) on
awareness and attitude toward adoption in infertile couples.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a randomized quasi‑experimental study of two
groups in the Milad Infertility Center of Mashhad on 34 (each group of 17 couples) infertile couples
with the criteria to enter the study. Couples were randomly assigned to two telephone and face‑to‑face
counseling groups, and each individual’s awareness and attitudes toward adoption were completed
separately before and after counseling. The average number of face‑to‑face sessions for face‑to‑face
counseling was three 60‑min sessions and six 30‑min sessions for telephone counseling.
RESULTS: Based on the results of t‑test, there was a statistically significant difference between
the average score of awareness of adoption before and after the intervention (2 weeks after the
last counseling session), in infertile couples in face‑to‑face training group and in telephone training
group (P < 0.0001). The score of the attitude toward adoption before counseling in the face‑to‑face
counseling group was 60.55 ± 5.5, which reached 66.76 ± 4.7 after counseling. Based on the results
of the T‑pair test, this difference was significant (P < 0.0001). In addition, in the telephone counseling
group, the score of attitude toward adoption increased from 59.53. 7.4 to 67.73 ± 7.5, which was a
significant difference in terms of t‑pair test. The mean score of attitudes toward adoption was not
statistically significant in the two groups (P = 0.653).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that both counseling methods (face to face and
telephone) increase the level of awareness and attitude of couples about adoption, but neither
method was superior to the other.

Keywords

Adoption
attitude
awareness
counseling
face‑to‑face counseling
telephone counseling
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 10, Issue 12
December 2020
Pages 1-7

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