Occupational health issues experienced by UK embryologists: informing improvements in clinical reproductive science practice

Abstract

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A Multi-Center Evaluation of a Novel IVF Cryostorage Device in an Active Clinical Setting

“…There is an increasing demand for fertility services, including cryostorage of reproductive health specimens [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. It is believed that this increasing workload is leading to high levels of stress, fatigue, burnout, and anxiety regarding cryostorage operations reported by embryologists [13,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. However, even with the increasing number of IVF cycles compounding issues, cryostorage operations still commonly rely on handwritten labels and paper ledgers to track, locate, identify, deposit, and retrieve specimens, in addition to manual regulation of cryostorage equipment function and environmental conditions [1,[13][14].…”

“…Embryologists have reported signs of fatigue, stress, anxiety, and burnout under current laboratory operating conditions [13,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. Anxiety is known to be speci cally associated with cryostorage working conditions [16][17][18][19][20][21], which may impact delity of the manual process. Embryologists working with manual cryostorage operations could bene t from the adoption of automation and software assistance within the laboratory setting [17][18][19].…”

“…Modern assisted reproductive technology (ART) facilities arduously monitor cryostorage equipment stability and integrity with minimal software oversight [13,15]. Embryologists have reported signs of fatigue, stress, anxiety, and burnout under current laboratory operating conditions [13,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. Anxiety is known to be speci cally associated with cryostorage working conditions [16][17][18][19][20][21], which may impact delity of the manual process.…”

Stress, Health and Well-being of Clinical Embryologists

“…In a survey carried out on the occupational health issues experienced by UK embryologists, work-related ill health was self-reported by 58.3% of respondents, 76.2% of whom reported multiple issues. The most frequently disclosed ill-health conditions were musculoskeletal disorders (45.3%) and stress and mental health problems (27.8%) (15) . Although, there are no such reports from other parts of the world, there is no reason to believe why embryologists health would be very different in other countries.…”