Development of a health promotion programme to improve awareness of factors that affect fertility, and evaluation of its reach in the first 5 years

Awareness among people of reproductive age about the factors that influence fertility and reproductive outcomes, including medically assisted reproduction outcomes, is generally low. To improve awareness about the potentially modifiable factors that affect fertility and reproductive outcomes, ‘Your Fertility’, a fertility health promotion programme funded by the Australian Government, was established in 2011. This paper describes the development and evaluation of the reach of the Your Fertility programme from its inception in 2011 to June 2016. Systematically recorded outcomes for the programme's key focus areas and Google Analytics data were collated. Key achievements include developing and maintaining an internationally renowned website that experiences high growth and demand for fertility-related information; by 2016, over 5 million users had viewed more than 10 million webpages, and over 96,000 users had engaged in programme messages across social media. Programme messages have reached more than 4 million Australian social media users, and a potential audience of 150 million through media coverage across more than 320 media features. More than 4200 education and health professionals have completed online learning modules, and external partnerships have been established with 14 separate organizations. Data collected over 5 years indicate that the Your Fertility programme meets a need for targeted, evidence-based, accessible fertility-related information.