Poster Presentation Women's Health Forum 2021

A recipe guide for consumer engagement – The ingredients and methods for producing a perinatal education program that partners with Queensland mums (#57)

Sheridan Guyatt 1 2 3 , Michael Beckmann 1 2 3 , Megan Ferguson 1 , Shelley Wilkinson 2 4
  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
  2. Mater Research, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  3. Mater Health, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

Background: A master chef knows that quality ingredients and a clear, repeatable method is required for success. When the menu is not appetising, what’s served is not consumed and people are left hungry for more.

Women-centred perinatal education is a core component of high quality, effective maternity care for positive pregnancy outcomes.1 However, an evidence practice gap exists through misalignment between women and their family's needs, the evidence base and how and what is provided to empower women in pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Here we will serve up our recipe for success for how to effectively engage with expectant and new parents throughout the perinatal period in a digital age.

Ingredients: Two key ingredients are required. Firstly, the recipe base of theories (education pedagogy, health behaviour, women-centred perinatal care, and implementation science) provides structure to the dish. Secondly, a generous helping of local flavours of understanding local needs (community, organisation, participant)2 provides insight into the enablers and barriers to implementation. These flavours define the dish.

Method: Next is blending these two ingredients through co-design with expectant and new parents, and the multidisciplinary health care team. This balances the dish for the diner’s palate to best meet needs, enhance enablers, overcome barriers, and apply theory to practice. Implementation science frameworks are an appetizing, systematic and rigorous way to articulate and operationalise all steps to plate-up an implementation and evaluation plan for an effective program of co-designed perinatal education.3

Results: This recipe has produced a unique and responsive a-la carte menu of pregnancy, birth, postnatal and parenting education delivered across multiple platforms.

Conclusion: Co-design with all stakeholders gives insight into local needs and operationalising a theory informed approach to care. Understanding this through an implementation science lens provides a structure to guide the process.

  1. 1. Department of Health. Clinical Practice Guidelines: Pregnancy Care. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Health; 2018.
  2. 2. Carver NA, Ward BM, Talbot LA. Using Bradshaw's taxonomy of needs: listening to women in planning pregnancy care. Contemporary Nurse 2008;30(1):76-82.
  3. 3. Lynch EA, Mudge A, Knowles S, Kitson AL, Hunter SC, Harvey G. “There is nothing so practical as a good theory”: a pragmatic guide for selecting theoretical approaches for implementation projects. BMC Health Service Research 2018;18(1):857.