TY - JOUR
T1 - Infertility clinics and acupuncture
T2 - a qualitative web-based study
AU - Magee, Bethany
AU - Smith, Kevin Richard
N1 - © 2023, The Author(s).
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Data availability statement:
Not present. Supplementary information part of the article.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - The increasing demand for fertility treatments has led to the rise of private clinics offering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. The most frequently offered CAM infertility treatment is acupuncture. However, there is no good evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating infertility. This study evaluates the scope of information provided by CAM fertility clinics in the UK. A content analysis was conducted on 200 websites of CAM fertility clinics in the UK that offer acupuncture as a treatment for infertility. Of the 48 clinics that met the eligibility criteria, the majority of the websites did not provide sufficient information on the efficacy, risks and success rates of acupuncture for infertility. This has the potential to infringe on patient autonomy, provide false hope and reduce the chances of pregnancy ever being achieved as fertility declines during the time course of ineffective acupuncture treatment.
AB - The increasing demand for fertility treatments has led to the rise of private clinics offering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. The most frequently offered CAM infertility treatment is acupuncture. However, there is no good evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating infertility. This study evaluates the scope of information provided by CAM fertility clinics in the UK. A content analysis was conducted on 200 websites of CAM fertility clinics in the UK that offer acupuncture as a treatment for infertility. Of the 48 clinics that met the eligibility criteria, the majority of the websites did not provide sufficient information on the efficacy, risks and success rates of acupuncture for infertility. This has the potential to infringe on patient autonomy, provide false hope and reduce the chances of pregnancy ever being achieved as fertility declines during the time course of ineffective acupuncture treatment.
U2 - 10.1007/s10815-023-02898-6
DO - 10.1007/s10815-023-02898-6
M3 - Article
SN - 1058-0468
VL - 40
SP - 2367
EP - 2373
JO - Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics
JF - Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics
IS - 10
ER -