Analysis of Factors' Effect on ART Treatment

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the success rate of Assisted Reproductive Technology treatments and factors including the socioeconomic status of the area around selected fertility clinics as well as whether the eggs used in the treatments were fresh or frozen, and either from donors or from the patients themselves. Data on treatment success rates were gathered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and socioeconomic status data in the form of median income and racial makeup of the area surrounding selected clinics were gathered from the national Census. These data were analyzed using a general linear model to determine whether any of the potential effects had a significant impact on success rates. A binomial logit link analysis of the results showed that only the fresh versus frozen nature of the egg used in each procedure had a significant impact on the success rate of that procedure, and that the socioeconomic status of the area around the clinics seemed to have no effect on treatment success rates. The value of this analysis in particular comes from its attention to the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the success rates of fertility specifically, as much of the existing research on the relationship between socioeconomic factors and quality of care tends to focus on medical care in general, as opposed to any one area.