Table 2.

Themes emerging from thematic analysis of data gathered at both meetings (see text for elaboration on themes).

Theme	Summary of theme
Need for fertility awareness in the Middle East	Fertility awareness was endorsed based on societal emphasis on childbearing and perceived widespread misconceptions about fertility and lack of fertility knowledge
Content acceptability and suggested tool changes	The content of the adapted FertiSTAT that was acceptable The wording of certain items found to be unacceptable or only acceptable if modified to be better understood and more culturally sensitive
Target audience for adapted FertiSTAT	Suggestions for the appropriate age and marital status of the target audience on which to use the adapted FertiSTAT included: couples preparing for marriage, newlyweds and young unmarried individuals (men and women) Suggestions about subgroups (e.g. refugees) as separate target audiences were made
Setting for implementation	Regional level settings: disagreement about the possibility of a regional tool Country/community level settings: urban and rural settings may have different needs Possible settings for dissemination and implementation include: schools, primary healthcare facilities, infertility clinics (tertiary level), community and media
Need for further research (setting specific) and a working group	Next steps require setting up a working group to finalize the content of the material and oversee necessary regional research Areas for future research: assess implementation in proposed settings and target populations; identify which format would be suitable for which setting; field testing the wording used to appropriately communicate complex, sensitive or stigmatizing topics to determine acceptability and alternatives; evaluate research to ensure highest possible quality of research (empirically sound); ethical problems (e.g. screening) will lead to huge demand and services need to be available