Do Infertile Women and Government Staff Differ in the Evaluation of Infertility-related Web Sites?

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the evaluation of local government Web sites carrying information on infertility by infertile women and by government staff. In particular, the study investigated whether the women and staff differed with respect to the information they rate as important and their self‐reported satisfaction with the Web sites. Design and Sample: Cross‐sectional descriptive study. Sixty‐two local government staff members, of whom 46 were public health nurses managing subsidy programs for infertility treatment in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and 84 infertile women attending local clinics. Measures: We measured the level of satisfaction with the local government Web sites and perceptions about the importance of each type of content. Data were descriptively analyzed, as well as by factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results: Local government Web sites were analyzed with respect to information about the treatment, details of the subsidy program, psychological support, and procedures for making a subsidy application. Conclusions: The women rated information on the treatment and details of the subsidy programs as important. There was no difference of satisfaction with the Web sites between the infertile women and the staff. Local government staff need to provide reliable data for women who are seeking information on infertility treatment.