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Preferences of women experiencing infertility for in vitro fertilisation treatment in China: a discrete choice experiment

bmjph · 2026-05-25 · canonical JSON source

12 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Introduction In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a key treatment for infertility, but uptake and continuation may be limited by treatment burden, side effects and out-of-pocket costs. Evidence on IVF treatment preferences among women in China remains limited. This study examined the preferences of Chinese women experiencing infertility for different IVF treatment attributes.Methods A discrete choice experiment was conducted using face-to-face surveys to elicit preferences among women experiencing infertility receiving IVF treatment. Five attributes were examined: number of visits per cycle, side effects, treatment costs per cycle, information disclosure about IVF and pregnancy rate per cycle. Preference weights were estimated using the mixed logit model. Willingness to pay and relative importance of the attributes were estimated. Scenario and heterogeneity analyses were performed.Results 591 participants were included in the final analysis. All five attributes significantly influenced preferences. Pregnancy rate per cycle was the most important attribute, followed by side effects, treatment costs, information disclosure and number of visits. Increasing the pregnancy rate from 15% to 60% per cycle produced the largest utility gain. Participants were willing to pay ¥56 099.89 for this improvement, ¥22 718.73 to reduce side effects from serious to mild, ¥8720.87 for always receiving information versus none and ¥6429.00 to reduce visits from 30 to 10 per cycle. Preference heterogeneity was associated with education and household income.Conclusions Chinese women undergoing infertility treatment place the greatest value on higher IVF pregnancy rates, fewer side effects and lower treatment costs. Patient-centred counselling, burden-reduction strategies and policies that reduce financial barriers, including potential insurance coverage, may improve IVF acceptability, continuation and utilisation. Tailored approaches are needed to address preference heterogeneity across patient subgroups.