title: States Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (SMART) Collaborative: data collection, linkage, dissemination, and use.
abstract: Assisted reproductive technology (ART) refers to fertility treatments in which both eggs and sperm are handled outside the body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) oversees the National ART Surveillance System (NASS), which collects data on all ART procedures performed in the United States. The NASS, while a comprehensive source of data on ART patient demographics and clinical procedures, includes limited information on outcomes related to women's and children's health. To examine ART-related health outcomes, CDC and three states (Massachusetts, Florida, and Michigan) established the States Monitoring ART (SMART) Collaborative to evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes of ART and improve state-based ART surveillance. To date, NASS data have been linked with states' vital records, disease registries, and hospital discharge data with a linkage rate of 90.2%. The probabilistic linkage methodology used in the SMART Collaborative has been validated and found to be both accurate and efficient. A wide breadth of applied research within the Collaborative is planned or ongoing, including examinations of the impact of insurance mandates on ART use as well as the relationships between ART and birth defects and cancer, among others. The SMART Collaborative is working to improve state-based ART surveillance by developing state surveillance plans, establishing partnerships, and conducting data analyses. The SMART Collaborative has been instrumental in creating linked datasets and strengthening epidemiologic and research capacity for improving maternal and infant health programs and evaluating the public health impact of ART.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. fgg8@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Allison S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mneimneh
authors.forename: Sheree L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Boulet
authors.forename: Saswati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sunderam
authors.forename: Yujia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Denise J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McKane
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mersol-Barg
authors.forename: Violanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grigorescu
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: JoAnn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sappenfield
authors.forename: Hafsatou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Diop
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Dmitry M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kissin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006265:Health Care Coalitions; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D033181:Information Dissemination; D008404:Massachusetts; D008824:Michigan; D017146:Models, Organizational; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D013221:State Health Plans