Fertile Ground for Social Support: Understanding Men's Use of Online Peer Support Groups for Fertility Issues

Men facing fertility issues often experience significant emotional distress. A beneficial factor in enhancing psychosocial well-being is the presence of peer support. Recently, the internet has become a popular source of peer support and information for health-related issues, including fertility issues. However, research in this area often focuses on women, leading to a lack of understanding of men’s use of online peer support groups for fertility issues (OPSFI).

This study aims to fill this gap, and its research question are threefold: (1) What is the sociodemographic profile of men who use OPSFI? (2) How do men make use of OPSFI? And (3) why do men make use of OPSFI? This study hypothesizes that online peer support groups for fertility issues can either complement or substitute for a lack of offline social support. It also examines whether perceived stigma and a lack of disclosure are more prevalent among lurkers compared to active participants of OPSFI, and if there is a difference between Belgian and Dutch men.

To answer these research questions, we designed an online survey about men’s use and experiences of OPSFI together with the stakeholder organizations De Verdwaalde Ooievaar (Flanders, Belgium) and Freya (The Netherlands).

The stakeholder organizations will advertise the study to recruit men with fertility issues to participate. The survey will collect data on demographics, fertility, internet use, motivation to use, social support, infertility stigma and disclosure, and overall satisfaction with the peer support group.

We look forward to share the results at the ISA conference. This ongoing research aims to understand the current and future role of online peer support in addressing men’s fertility issues. Our goal is to better meet the needs of men in Flanders and the Netherlands through professional healthcare and informal peer networks.