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RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Partnering with consumers and practising clinicians to establish research priorities for public hospital maternity services

Roni Cole https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-0311 A * , Lauren Kearney https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0299-6537 B C , Bec Jenkinson https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6723-8898 D , Imogen Kettle A , Beng Ng A , Leonie Callaway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-9935 B and Rachael Nugent https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7366-042X A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Women’s and Children’s Services, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Qld, Australia.

B Women’s and Newborn Services, Metro North Health, Qld, Australia.

C School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland, Qld, Australia.

D School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Qld, Australia.

* Correspondence to: roni.cole@health.qld.gov.au

Australian Health Review https://doi.org/10.1071/AH23222
Submitted: 29 August 2023  Accepted: 7 April 2024  Published: 6 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.

Abstract

Objective

An innovative approach by two Queensland health services was taken to establish a shared maternity services’ research agenda by partnering with consumers and clinicians. The objective was to set the top five research priorities to ensure that the future direction of maternity research was relevant to end-user and organisational needs.

Methods

A modified James Lind Alliance (JLA) methodology was applied between August 2022 and February 2023 across two south-east Queensland Health Services which included five participating maternity units and involved partnership with consumers, healthcare professionals and clinician researchers. The reporting guideline for priority setting of health research (REPRISE) was followed.

Results

There were 192 respondents to the initial harvesting survey, generating 461 research suggestions. These were aggregated into 122 unique questions and further summarised into a list of 44 research questions. The 157 eligible interim prioritisation survey respondents short-listed 27 questions ready for ranking at a final consensus workshop. The top five question themes were: (1) maternity care experience, engagement and outcomes of priority populations; (2) increasing spontaneous vaginal birth; (3) experiences and perceptions of woman/person-centred care; (4) best practice care during the ‘fourth’ trimester; and (5) antibiotic use during labour and birth.

Conclusion

Applying an adapted JLA framework can successfully shape and establish a research agenda within Australian health services, through partnership with consumers and practicing clinicians. This is a transparent process that strengthens the legitimacy and credibility of research agendas, and it can form a replicable framework for other settings.

Keywords: consensus workshop, consumer, decision making, health service, James Lind Alliance, maternity care, research agenda, research prioritisation.

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