Improving the provision of preconception care in Australian general practice through task-sharing with practice nurses
Nishadi N. Withanage A B * , Jessica R. Botfield A B , Kirsten I. Black A C and Danielle Mazza A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Vic., Australia.
B Department of General Practice, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
C University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
* Correspondence to: nishadi.withanage@monash.edu
Australian Journal of Primary Health - https://doi.org/10.1071/PY22161
Submitted: 29 July 2022 Accepted: 23 November 2022 Published online: 19 December 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Preconception care (PCC) is effective in reducing modifiable risk factors and optimising maternal health. Primary care services such as general practices in Australia are an appropriate setting to provide PCC. However, PCC is not routinely provided in most of these settings, and many reproductive-aged women and men are not aware of the need for PCC. In this forum article, we discuss the factors that hinder PCC provision in Australian general practices and make recommendations on how access to PCC services can be broadened in Australia, including the potential opportunity for general practice nurses to contribute to the provision of PCC.
Keywords: general practice, practice nurses, preconception care, preconception counselling, primary health care, primary prevention, public health: practice, reproductive health services, women’s health services.
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