Browsing by Subject "infertility"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The Discursive Dynamics of Disclosure and Avoidance: Evidence from a Study of Infertility
    (2013-02) Bute, Jennifer J.; Brann, Maria
    Recent research and theorizing about privacy management suggests a need to consider discursive dynamics and interpretations of meaning in conversations involving disclosure, topic avoidance, secret-keeping, and other privacy management processes. In the following study, I drew on a specific set of theoretical assumptions as the basis for an investigation of privacy management in the context of infertility. Based on in-depth interviews with 23 women coping with infertility, results reveal the varied ways that private topics arose in conversations (e.g., discloser initiated conversations, responses to requests for information), the diverse ways that women concealed or revealed their struggles with infertility, and the multiple dilemmas they faced in managing private information about their fertility problem. I discuss the results in light of the extant literature on managing private information about sensitive issues and suggest that scholars must continue to focus on conversational dynamics to understand fully how privacy management processes unfold in everyday conversations.
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    Inconsistent Adoption of World Health Organization V (2010) Semen Analysis Reference Ranges in the United States Six Years After Publication
    (Elsevier, 2019) Lewis, Kevin C.; Lam, Isaac; Nieb, Jacob; Lam, Grace; Desai, Anuj S.; Mazur, Daniel J.; Kahn, Barbara; Keeter, Mary Kate; Tatem, Alex; Hehemann, Marah; Frainey, Brendan T.; Bennett, Nelson; Brannigan, Robert E.; Urology, School of Medicine
    Objective To determine the percentage of laboratories in the United States that have adopted the World Health Organization 2010 (WHO 5) semen analysis (SA) reference values six years after their publication. Methods Laboratories were identified via three approaches: using the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) website, the CDC's 2015 Assisted Reproductive Technology Fertility Clinical Success Rate Report, and automated web searches. Laboratories were contacted by phone or email to obtain de-identified SA reports and reference ranges. Results We contacted 617 laboratories in 46 states, of which 208 (26.7%) laboratories in 45 states were included in our analysis. 132 (63.5%) laboratories used WHO 5 criteria, 57 (27.4%) used WHO 4 criteria, and 19 (9.1%) used other criteria. WHO 5 criteria adoption rates varied by geographic region, ranging from 87.5% (35/40) in the Midwest to 50.0% (33/66) in the West. There was a greater adoption rate of WHO 5 reference values in academic affiliated (23/26, 88.5%) compared to non-academic affiliated laboratories (110/182, 60.4%) (P=0.028). Conclusion While the majority of laboratories have adopted WHO 5 criteria following its release six years ago, a large percentage (36.5%) use what is now considered outdated criteria. This variability could result in the characterization of a male's semen values as being “within reference range” at one center and “outside of reference range” at another. This inconsistency in classification may result in confusion for the both patient and physician and potentially shift the burden of infertility evaluation and treatment to the female partner.
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    “Nobody Thinks Twice About Asking:” Women with a Fertility Problem and Requests for Information
    (2009-12) Bute, Jennifer J.; Brann, Maria
    For women with a fertility problem, responding to questions about childbearing, pregnancy, and the nature of infertility is a salient issue. In this study of talking about infertility, women described their experiences in handling such requests for information. Results suggest that requests come in a variety of forms, that women attribute multiple and potentially conflicting meanings to such requests, and that requests can elicit a variety of responses. From a communication standpoint, such inquiries suggest the varied ways that conversational partners can attempt to elicit disclosive information, thus enabling or constraining the emergent nature of the interaction.
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    Politicizing Personal Choices? The Storying of Age-Related Infertility in Public Discourses
    (2010) Bute, Jennifer J.; Harter, Lynn M; Kirby, Erika L.; Thompson, Marie
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    Privacy Management as Unfinished Business: Shifting Boundaries in the Context of Infertility
    (2010-01) Bute, Jennifer J.; Vik, Tennley A.
    Privacy dilemmas are prevalent for women who experience a fertility problem. In this study, we use communication privacy management (CPM) theory to explore how privacy boundaries shift over time as women cope with infertility. Based on interviews with 23 women, we found that women described distinctive patterns of shifting privacy boundaries, including situations in which the experience of infertility served as a change agent, patterns in which women became more or less open over time, and patterns that indicated a continuous oscillation of boundaries. These ever-changing patterns of talk indicate that managing private information about infertility is unfinished business.