HIHI Showcases New FemTech Clinical Evaluation Supporting Innovation in Fertility Care
Independent clinical evaluation demonstrates how holistic digital support can complement fertility care and improve patient experience.
Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) has published a new clinical evaluation case study demonstrating the positive impact of Flowering Fertility Support, an innovative digital programme designed to provide emotional, educational and peer support for people navigating fertility challenges.
Delivered through HIHI’s FemTech Initiative, the evaluation highlights the growing importance of integrating person-centred, holistic support alongside clinical fertility services, helping to address an unmet need experienced by many individuals and couples during their fertility journey.
Founded by Clare Mansfield and Shane McCarthy following their own personal experience of infertility, Flowering Fertility Support offers an eight-week online programme combining expert-led fertility education, emotional wellbeing resources, practical guidance, mindfulness activities and professionally facilitated peer support. The programme is designed to complement not replace clinical fertility care by supporting participants throughout what can often be an emotionally demanding experience.
As part of its FemTech Initiative, HIHI partnered with Flowering Fertility Support to independently evaluate the programme’s feasibility, usability and perceived impact. The mixed-methods evaluation, led by HIHI and conducted with ethical approval through University College Cork, included participant surveys before and after the programme together with in-depth qualitative interviews.
The findings were highly encouraging. Participants consistently reported reduced feelings of isolation and emotional distress, greater confidence when engaging with fertility services, improved understanding of fertility treatment options and increased emotional resilience. Many described the programme as providing the “missing piece” in their fertility care, offering a sense of community and practical support that extended beyond the clinical setting.
The evaluation also found that participants felt more empowered to advocate for themselves throughout their fertility journey and continued to apply the coping strategies and techniques learned during the programme long after it had concluded.
Commenting on the collaboration, Clare Mansfield, Co-founder of Flowering Fertility Support, said:
“Working with Health Innovation Hub Ireland has been an invaluable experience for Flowering Fertility Support. Their independent evaluation has provided robust evidence of the positive impact of our programme and has given us greater confidence and credibility as we continue to grow.
The evaluation has not only validated the need for holistic emotional support alongside clinical fertility care, but it has also given us valuable insights that will help shape the future development of the programme. We are incredibly grateful for HIHI’s support and would highly recommend the process to any health innovator looking to strengthen their evidence base and demonstrate real-world impact.”
HIHI’s evaluation concluded that Flowering Fertility Support has significant potential as an innovative adjunct to existing fertility services, contributing to more compassionate, patient-centred fertility care while supporting improved patient experience and wellbeing.
The case study also showcases the role of HIHI’s FemTech Initiative, which supports innovators developing solutions that improve women’s health. The initiative provides companies with access to clinical expertise, healthcare settings and independent evaluations that help innovators generate evidence, refine their technologies and accelerate adoption within healthcare systems.
FemTech is one of HIHI’s strategic innovation programmes, supporting technologies that address women’s health across fertility, menstruation, menopause, gynaecological health and conditions that disproportionately or differently affect women. Working in partnership with the Ireland South Women & Infants Directorate at Cork University Maternity Hospital, the initiative is helping to build a stronger ecosystem for women’s health innovation in Ireland.
As demand grows for more integrated and patient-centred models of care, collaborations such as this demonstrate how evidence-based innovation can enhance healthcare services and improve outcomes for patients.
The full Flowering Fertility Support Clinical Evaluation Case Study is available to read here
https://hih.ie/downloads/case-studies/HIHI-case-study_Flowering-Fertility.pdf