Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the available COVID-19 content in regard to fertility care on the websites of Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) member clinics Design: Cross-sectional study Materials and Methods: From March 17 to March 30, 2020, following the release of the first American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) COVID-19 recommendations, SART member clinics’ websites were examined The presence of information on COVID-19 and pregnancy implications, acknowledgement of and compliance with ASRM recommendations, description of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) risk mitigation strategies and local health department guidelines, as well as advertisement of telehealth and available mental health resources were queried Websites were categorized by practice size (small: <500 vs large: ≥500 cycles/year), type (academic vs private) and degree of statewide COVID-19 burden based on CDC data (low: 0-1000;high: ≥1000 diagnosed cases) Group differences were evaluated using χ2 Results: Larger clinics, compared to smaller, were more likely to report COVID-19 information, acknowledge and comply with ASRM recommendations, mention CDC risk mitigation strategies and local health department guidelines, discuss pregnancy implications and advertise telehealth [88% (130/148) vs 64% (146/227);49% (72/148) vs 32% (72/227);52% (77/148) vs 34% (75/227);76% (112/148) vs 53% (120/227);50% (74/148) vs 31% (71/227);36% (53/148) vs 21% (48/227) and 38% (101/148) vs 29% (119/227), respectively, P<0 05, all values] Academic clinics, compared to private, were more likely to report COVID-19 information and report CDC risk mitigation strategies [87% (77/89) vs 70% (199/286);76% (68/89) vs 57% (164/286), respectively, P<0 05, all values] Private clinics were more likely to acknowledge and quote ≥3/5 ASRM key recommendations but tended to devise individualized guidelines [44% (126/286) vs 20% (18/89);28% (80/286) vs 12% (11/89) and 34% (97/286) vs 4% (4/89), respectively, P<0 05, all values] Private clinics were also more likely to advertise telehealth and discuss pregnancy implications [63% (179/286) vs 46% (41/89) and 37% (106/286) vs 20% (18/89), respectively, P<0 05, all values] Only 35/375 websites offered mental health resources Degree of statewide COVID-19 burden did not appear to impact the information available on clinic websites Conclusions: Clinic size and type of practice, rather than COVID-19 burden, influenced websites use for patient education and care during the pandemic Telehealth advertisement as well as adherence to regulatory agencies' and societal recommendations were more common in larger clinics Private clinics more frequently devised individualized patient care guidelines, addressed common concerns about the effect of COVID-19 on pregnancy, and made telehealth more readily accessible The exclusion of such information on clinic websites may be a missed opportunity to support and educate patients about fertility treatment during a uniquely vulnerable time
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