"Who needs an app? Fertility patients' use of a novel mobile health app".

Objective: The number of couples experiencing infertility treatment has increased, as has the number of women and men experiencing infertility treatment-related stress and anxiety. Therefore, there is a need to provide information and support to both men and women facing fertility concerns. To achieve this goal, we designed a mhealth app, Infotility, that provided men and women with tailored medical, psychosocial, lifestyle, and legal information. Methods: This study specifically examined how fertility factors (e.g. time in infertility treatment, parity), socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. gender, education, immigrant status), and mental health characteristics (e.g. stress, depression, anxiety, fertility-related quality of life) were related to male and female fertility patients' patterns of use of the Infotility app. Results: Overall, the lifestyle section of the app was the most highly used section by both men and women. In addition, women without children and highly educated women were more likely to use Infotility. No demographic, mental health or fertility characteristics were significantly associated with app use for men. Conclusion: This study shows the feasibility of a mhealth app to address the psychosocial and informational needs of fertility patients.

Soutien au réseau des services de garde montréalais dans la prévention et la gestion de la COVID-19 : un service à 3 pôles.

SETTING: From April 2020, in sight of child care reopening, the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal (DRSPM) conducted a situational analysis with its child care (CC) partners in order to learn about the challenges they envisioned in their role in preventing and managing COVID-19. The CC partners requested access to preferred public health support. INTERVENTION: The DRSPM established a service consisting of three components: (1) telephone support available 6 to 7 days/week for CC managers facing a COVID-19 situation; (2) a regional committee combining four Montreal representatives of CC associations and one from the Ministère de la Famille; (3) prevention brigades formed by front-line health workers from the Centres intégrés universitaires de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS). OUTCOMES: This health promotion intervention (1) enabled CC services to handle the pandemic with better capability and confidence through facilitating access to accurate and positive information; (2) supported the commitment and collaboration of CC services by acting as a mediator between them and decision-makers; and (3) responded to the psychosocial needs of community members. IMPLICATIONS: This service helped to adjust public policy and promote community resilience by raising awareness of the importance of balancing COVID-19 prevention and the collateral impacts of the pandemic.

RéSUMé: LIEU: Dès avril 2020, la Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal (DRSPM) a réalisé un état de situation avec ses partenaires du réseau des services de garde (SDG) pour prendre connaissance des défis envisagés dans leur rôle de prévention et de gestion de la COVID-19 lors de la réouverture des SDG. Les SDG ont demandé d'avoir accès à un soutien privilégié de la santé publique. INTERVENTION: La DRSPM a mis en place un service reposant sur trois pôles : 1) un soutien téléphonique disponible 6 à 7 jours/semaine aux gestionnaires des SDG devant gérer une situation de COVID-19; 2) un comité régional composé de quatre représentants montréalais des associations de SDG ainsi que du ministère de la Famille; 3) des brigades de prévention composées d'intervenants de première ligne des Centres intégrés universitaires de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS). RéSULTATS: L'intervention de santé publique qui a été mise en place a permis de : 1) conférer les moyens aux SDG afin d'accroître leur capacité et leur confiance dans la gestion de la pandémie en facilitant l'accès à une information juste et positive; 2) soutenir l'engagement et la collaboration des SDG en agissant comme médiateur à leur égard; et 3) répondre aux besoins psychosociaux des membres de la communauté. CONSéQUENCES: Ce service a permis d'ajuster les politiques publiques et de promouvoir la résilience communautaire en sensibilisant les acteurs concernés à l'importance de trouver un juste équilibre entre la protection de la population et les impacts collatéraux de la pandémie.

Searching the Internet for Infertility Information: A Survey of Patient Needs and Preferences.

BACKGROUND: Given the complexity of infertility diagnoses and treatments and the convenience of the internet for finding health-related information, people undergoing infertility treatments often use Web-based resources to obtain infertility information and support. However, little is known about the types of information and support resources infertility patients search for on the internet and whether these resources meet their needs. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to (1) examine what individual factors, namely, demographic characteristics and distress, are associated with searching the internet for different types of infertility-related information and support resources and (2) determine whether Web-based resources meet the needs of patients. METHODS: Men and women seeking infertility care responded to a survey assessing use of Web-based resources for accessing infertility-related information and support. The survey further assessed satisfaction with Web-based resources as well as perceived stress and depressive symptomatology. RESULTS: A total of 567 participants, including 254 men and 313 women, completed the survey. Most participants (490/558, 87.8%) had searched the internet for infertility information and support. Searchers were more likely to be women (P<.001), highly educated (P=.04), long-term patients (P=.03), and more distressed (P=.04). Causes of infertility, treatment options, and scientific literature about infertility were the three most frequently searched topics, whereas ways to discuss treatment with family and friends as well as surrogacy and ways to find peer support were the three least searched topics. Of those who searched the internet, 70.9% (346/488) indicated that their needs were met by Web-based information, whereas 29.1% (142/488) said that their needs were not met. Having unmet needs was related to greater levels of perceived stress (P=.005) and depressive symptomatology (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the important role of the internet in accessing infertility information and support and for the ability of Web-based resources to meet patients' needs. However, although distressed patients reported particularly high rates of searching, their needs were not always met, suggesting that they may benefit from alternative sources of information and support or guidance from health care providers when searching the internet.

"It's Totally Okay to Be Sad, but Never Lose Hope": Content Analysis of Infertility-Related Videos on YouTube in Relation to Viewer Preferences.

BACKGROUND: Infertility patients frequently use the internet to find fertility-related information and support from people in similar circumstances. YouTube is increasingly used as a source of health-related information and may influence health decision making. There have been no studies examining the content of infertility-related videos on YouTube. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to (1) describe the content of highly viewed videos on YouTube related to infertility and (2) identify video characteristics that relate to viewer preference. METHODS: Using the search term "infertility," the 80 top-viewed YouTube videos and their viewing statistics (eg, views, likes, and comments) were collected. Videos that were non-English, unrelated to infertility, or had age restrictions were excluded. Content analysis was used to examine videos, employing a coding rubric that measured the presence or absence of video codes related to purpose, tone, and demographic and fertility characteristics (eg, sex, parity, stage of fertility treatment). RESULTS: A total of 59 videos, with a median of 156,103 views, met the inclusion criteria and were categorized into 35 personal videos (35/59, 59%) and 24 informational-educational videos (24/59, 41%). Personal videos did not differ significantly from informational-educational videos on number of views, dislikes, subscriptions driven, or shares. However, personal videos had significantly more likes (P<.001) and comments (P<.001) than informational-educational videos. The purposes of the videos were treatment outcomes (33/59, 56%), sharing information (30/59, 51%), emotional aspects of infertility (20/59, 34%), and advice to others (6/59, 10%). The tones of the videos were positive (26/59, 44%), neutral (25/59, 42%), and mixed (8/59, 14%); there were no videos with negative tone. No videos contained only male posters. Videos with a positive tone did not differ from neutral videos in number of views, dislikes, subscriptions driven, or shares; however, positive videos had significantly more likes (P<.001) and comments (P<.001) than neutral videos. A majority (21/35, 60%) of posters of personal videos shared a pregnancy announcement. CONCLUSIONS: YouTube is a source of both technical and personal experience-based information about infertility. However, videos that include personal experiences may elicit greater viewer engagement. Positive videos and stories of treatment success may provide hope to viewers but could also create and perpetuate unrealistic expectations about the success rates of fertility treatment.