Disparities between online assisted reproduction patient education for same-sex and heterosexual couples

STUDY QUESTION Does the prevalence of online education in fertility center websites differ for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) couples compared to online education for heterosexual couples? SUMMARY ANSWER This review of fertility center websites showed that the majority of websites with patient education for heterosexual couples do not have similar materials for LGBT couples. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY In order to have biologically related children, LGBT individuals or couples utilize assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Fertility clinic websites provide online education to familiarize patients with the different ART procedures; however, no studies have examined the prevalence of educational information for LGBT couples compared to information for heterosexual couples utilizing ART. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION This website review evaluated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-reported fertility center websites. Websites were reviewed in 2014 using the latest 2011 CDC report, and reviewed again in 2015 with the latest 2013 CDC report. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHOD Patient education information was coded using categories determined after a sample review, and differences were analyzed with 2 tests, with P-values calculated with Fisher's exact test. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE In 2014, 31.1% (121) of 389 websites with information for heterosexual couples also contained information for LGBT couples. In 2015, the number of fert...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Infertility Source Type: research