Sarit Avraham1, Ronit Machtinger1, Tal Cahan1, Amit Sokolov2, Catherine Racowsky3, Daniel S Seidman4. 1. IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, and the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 2. Department of Statistics and Operations Research, the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 3. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, and the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Electronic address: dseidman@tau.ac.il.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate adequacy and adherence to American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) guidelines of internet information provided by Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART)-affiliated clinics regarding social oocyte cryopreservation (SOC). DESIGN: Systematic evaluation of websites of all SART member fertility clinics. SETTING: The internet. PATIENT(S): None. INTERVENTION(S): All websites offering SOC services were scored using a 0-13 scale, based on 10 questions designed to assess website quality and adherence to the ASRM/SART guidelines. The websites were analyzed independently by two authors. Whenever disagreement occurred, a third investigator determined the score. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Scores defined website quality as excellent, ≥9; moderate, 5-8; or poor, ≤4 points. RESULT(S): Of the 387 clinics registered as SART members, 200 offered oocyte cryopreservation services for either medical or social reasons; 147 of these advertised SOC. The average website scores of those clinics offering SOC was 3.4 ± 2.1 (range, 2-11) points. There was no significant difference in scores between private versus academic clinics or clinics performing more or less than 500 cycles per year. CONCLUSION(S): The majority of the websites do not follow the SART/ASRM guidelines for SOC, indicating that there is a need to improve the type and quality of information provided on SOC by SART member websites.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate adequacy and adherence to American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) guidelines of internet information provided by Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART)-affiliated clinics regarding social oocyte cryopreservation (SOC). DESIGN: Systematic evaluation of websites of all SART member fertility clinics. SETTING: The internet. PATIENT(S): None. INTERVENTION(S): All websites offering SOC services were scored using a 0-13 scale, based on 10 questions designed to assess website quality and adherence to the ASRM/SART guidelines. The websites were analyzed independently by two authors. Whenever disagreement occurred, a third investigator determined the score. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Scores defined website quality as excellent, ≥9; moderate, 5-8; or poor, ≤4 points. RESULT(S): Of the 387 clinics registered as SART members, 200 offered oocyte cryopreservation services for either medical or social reasons; 147 of these advertised SOC. The average website scores of those clinics offering SOC was 3.4 ± 2.1 (range, 2-11) points. There was no significant difference in scores between private versus academic clinics or clinics performing more or less than 500 cycles per year. CONCLUSION(S): The majority of the websites do not follow the SART/ASRM guidelines for SOC, indicating that there is a need to improve the type and quality of information provided on SOC by SART member websites.
Authors: Alma Linkeviciute; Fedro A Peccatori; Virginia Sanchini; Giovanni Boniolo Journal: J Assist Reprod Genet Date: 2015-07-03 Impact factor: 3.412