{"id":530,"date":"2021-11-30T14:43:31","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T14:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=530"},"modified":"2021-11-30T15:11:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T15:11:00","slug":"event-report-the-question-of-add-ons-and-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=530","title":{"rendered":"Event report: The question of add-ons and evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On November 9th we had the pleasure to host another stimulating workshop, organised in cooperation with the Progress Educational Trust<\/a>. For this online workshop we invited health professionals, researchers and fertility patient advocates to discuss the topics of evidence production and fertility treatment add-ons. This workshop was the third in a series of workshops designed for professionals (see our reports of previous workshops with the Royal College of Nursing<\/a> and Progress Educational Trust<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this most recent workshop was to share ideas about: what kind of evidence can be produced in this field and how; what information is and should be available to patients in relation to the various treatments on offer; and how patients understand the evidence to support the treatments available to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first part of the workshop, Manuela Perrotta presented significant findings from our research project. She focused on the polarised debate on treatment add-ons and evidence-based medicine, by illustrating the current state of evidence available on treatment add-ons and exploring some of the reasons for lack of quality evidence<\/a>. On the basis of the project findings, Manuela invited all participants to reflect upon what alternative information might be available publicly to patients interested in those treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the topics evoked were explored further by Sarah Armstrong, who underlined the importance of studying patients\u2019 evaluations of complementary and add-on treatments in IVF. In the next presentation, Jack Wilkinson called into question the very definition of add-ons and resonated on how evidence is to be produced and communicated, not only in relation to whether or not specific treatments or equipment positively affect live birth rates, but also in relation to concerns about reducing chances of conception and live births.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing on research data from IVF patient interviews, Josie Hamper took the (virtual) stage to introduce the different ways in which patients understand the concept of evidence in relation to their own IVF treatment journeys. Josie called for careful consideration of how patients\u2019 personal evaluations of evidence shape their decision-making about add-ons. Josie\u2019s talk was followed by Katy Lindermann, who stressed how, in a context of uncertainty about evidence in relation to complementary treatments and add-ons in IVF, some patients are interested in knowing whether these can produce any harm. She called for more research and information to be made public on the possibility of harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the most fruitful moments of this two-hour long workshop were the conversations that happened in breakout rooms, where all participants got the chance to express their positions, ask each other questions and react to the presentations. The option of offering patients additional information on every treatment on the HFEA website was considered a necessity, while participants discussed the pros and cons of the HFEA\u2019s current traffic light system. Some acknowledged the challenges for health professionals in managing patients\u2019 expectations and appreciated the need to continue having conversations with patients about the current state of add-ons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altogether, participants recognised the need to bring more people into these discussions, including some more of those who promote the use of add-ons. Participants broadly agreed that this would enable a more nuanced conversation about the quality of information that patients receive in order to make decisions about their own fertility journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This workshop was part of our public engagement event series<\/a>. It was funded by a Wellcome Trust public engagement grant.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On November 9th we had the pleasure to host another stimulating workshop, organised in cooperation with the Progress Educational Trust. For this online workshop we invited health professionals, researchers and fertility patient advocates to discuss the topics of evidence production and fertility treatment add-ons. This workshop was the third in a series of workshops designed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4,21],"tags":[46,41,47,40,28],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-news","tag-add-ons","tag-evidence","tag-ivf-patients","tag-ivf-professionals","tag-public-engagement"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9YI6o-8y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":428,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=428","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":0},"title":"Workshop with IVF professionals","date":"10th August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of our public engagement programme, we had the pleasure to host an extremely fascinating event 'Time-lapse Imaging and the Debate on Evidence: A Social Science Perspective', which we organised with the Progress Educational Trust (PET). For this event, we invited professionals involved in various aspects of IVF treatment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":639,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=639","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":1},"title":"Open event: A global perspective on fertility treatment add-ons","date":"19th January 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We invite you to a free online event organised in collaboration with the Progress Educational Trust. Some of our findings from the Remaking the Human Body project will be presented at this event. Title: Adding up what we know: A global perspective on fertility treatment add-ons Date: 26 January 2022,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Final-event-for-blog.jpg.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":600,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=600","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":2},"title":"What can we do to support informed decisions?","date":"30th November 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past few months, the research team has participated in a number of events where we have discussed our findings and engaged in stimulating conversations with IVF patients and professionals (you can see a list of our past events and links to event reports on the Events page). In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/image-16.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":649,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=649","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":3},"title":"Final public engagement event report: Panel on IVF add-ons","date":"1st February 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The final part of our public engagement event series took place on 26 January. This event was organised by the Progress Educational Trust (PET) and chaired by Sarah Norcross, who has been involved in several other of our public engagement activities. PET has a substantial track record of engaging in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":525,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=525","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":4},"title":"The IVF Experience opening workshop","date":"4th November 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We were thrilled to launch our online event series 'The IVF Experience' this week. Our\u00a0first workshop coincided with Fertility Network UK's National Fertility Awareness Week, which is an whole week dedicated to having conversations about infertility and the realities of fertility treatment.\u00a0 Our first workshop was hosted by Sarah Norcross\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":700,"url":"https:\/\/remakingthehumanbody.sbm.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=700","url_meta":{"origin":530,"position":5},"title":"Open consultation: When, where and how should fertility patients receive time-lapse videos?","date":"9th March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A new consultation document addresses how time-lapse videos of embryo development are shared with IVF patients. This is a work-in-progress and we are seeking feedback on the document until July 5th, 2023. You can find the consultation document in the Open Consultation page. 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