Ethnicity reporting practices of assisted reproduction clinics

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Multiple published reports have shown racial and ethnic disparities in ART outcomes. The magnitude of these effects in the US cannot be calculated, as patient ethnicity is reported to SART in less than 25% of IVF cycles (SART 2007 data). We sought to explore the current reporting practices of ART clinics.DESIGN: Nationwide cross-sectional survey of 384 SART clinics.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In April 2010, a brief 5-question online survey was distributed to 384 IVF clinic directors registered with SART regarding their reporting of ethnicity, as it relates to assisted reproduction.RESULTS: 85 SART clinics participated, with varying patient demographics, volume (20-3500 cases per year), and clinical setting (university-based and private practices).Tabled 1SART Ethnicity Reporting Survey1. Approximately how many ART cycles does your clinic start each year?2. Do you report the race/ethnicity of your patients to SART?3. If not, why?4. If you answered “Yes” or “Sometimes” to question #2, in what way(s) do you collect race/ethnicity data?5. Do you use race/ethnicity literature data when counseling your infertility patients? Open table in a new tab CONCLUSION: Based on this survey, reasons for not reporting ethnicity include lack of standardized data collection guidelines and little up-to-date literature. However, existing literature on ethnic disparities in ART is limited by poor reporting. Making ethnicity a required field in the SART database would help expand this literature and better inform clinicians and patients. OBJECTIVE: Multiple published reports have shown racial and ethnic disparities in ART outcomes. The magnitude of these effects in the US cannot be calculated, as patient ethnicity is reported to SART in less than 25% of IVF cycles (SART 2007 data). We sought to explore the current reporting practices of ART clinics. DESIGN: Nationwide cross-sectional survey of 384 SART clinics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In April 2010, a brief 5-question online survey was distributed to 384 IVF clinic directors registered with SART regarding their reporting of ethnicity, as it relates to assisted reproduction. RESULTS: 85 SART clinics participated, with varying patient demographics, volume (20-3500 cases per year), and clinical setting (university-based and private practices). CONCLUSION: Based on this survey, reasons for not reporting ethnicity include lack of standardized data collection guidelines and little up-to-date literature. However, existing literature on ethnic disparities in ART is limited by poor reporting. Making ethnicity a required field in the SART database would help expand this literature and better inform clinicians and patients.