Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37969777›Full record

ArticleTranslational andrology and urology2023

Should I freeze my sperm?-readability and quality of health resources for sperm banking.

Reza Kianian, Andre Belarmino, Ilana Finkelshtein, Jesse N Mills, Sriram V Eleswarapu, Nicholas M Donin

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Translational andrology and urology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Reza KianianDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Andre BelarminoDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Ilana FinkelshteinDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jesse N MillsDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Sriram V EleswarapuDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Nicholas M DoninDepartment of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Sperm banking refers to the collection and storage of sperm cells for future use. Despite the recommendations of major medical societies, sperm banking is not discussed sufficiently with patients at risk of future fertility. Majority of Americans utilize the internet regarding health information. The aim of this study is to assess the reading level and the quality of online health information on sperm banking. Methods: The top 50 search results from Google, Bing, and Yahoo were selected after searching for the term "sperm banking". Duplicate pages, advertisements, news and magazines, blog posts, videos, paid subscriptions, articles intended for health professionals, and non-related pages were excluded. Four validated readability and two quality assessment tools were used to score the text. Websites were divided into five categories: academic, hospital-affiliated, commercial, non-profit health advocacy, and non-categorized. Descriptive statistics, one sample Results: Forty-one webpages were included. The mean Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) for all pages was 46.9/100 and the mean reading level was 11th grade, compared to the recommended 6th grade level, across various assessment tools. Utilizing the DISCERN Instrument, quality of online health information was fair. Seven percent of pages received a "good" quality score and no pages received a score of "excellent". On average, 1.5 out of 4 criteria categorized by the JAMA Benchmark, a validated quality assessment tool, were met. The hospital-affiliated webpages received the best reading scores and commercial pages received the highest quality scores. Conclusions: Online health information on sperm banking available in English is of poor quality based on several quality assessment tools and at a reading level significantly higher than what is recommended. Further efforts are needed by providers and healthcare institutions to improve the quality of information available to patients.

Indexed as

consumer health informationCryopreservationreadabilitysperm bank

Identifiers

PMID37969777
PMCPMC10643385

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.