Quality Of Web-Based Pregnancy And Fertility Health Information For Lgbt Individuals

INTRODUCTION: There is little scientific pregnancy and fertility information available online for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. In an age where individuals acquire a significant portion of their medical information online, it is important to have validated and reliable medical information available, especially because of the unique family building obstacles faced by LGBT individuals. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of web-based reproductive health information for LGBT individuals. METHODS: The first 25 relevant websites that resulted from a Google-based search and met specific LGBT family building search criteria were analyzed for health-related information using the National Quality Health Website Survey (NQHWS) instrument. RESULTS: 76% of the websites (19/25) belonged to fertility clinics and constituted mostly vehicles for advertisements to the LGBT community for these clinics. No website identified source of funding, described medical, editorial, or quality review practices or policies. No website met more than 75% reliability criteria, and 76% (19/25) met less than 50%. Only 32% (8/25) mentioned adoption as an option or made any mention of reproductive options provided to transgender individuals. Additionally, only 48% (12/25) of websites made any mention of legal resources to help navigate LGBT family building in this country. CONCLUSION: This is the first study applying validated reliability criteria (NQHWS) to evaluate online information regarding LGBT reproductive options. Medically reliable websites for the LGBT community are greatly needed to provide sufficient information on family building for the LGBT community.