Maternity research priorities in country Western Australia: a Delphi study
Zoe Bradfield
A * , Giselle O’Connor A B , Tarryn Sharp B , Kate Reynolds B , Sarah Moore B C , Jared Watts B , Karen Coyle B , Janinne Gliddon B and Yvonne Hauck A
A Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
B Western Australian Country Health Service, Perth, WA, Australia.
C Faculty of Medicine, Rural Clinical School of Western Australia, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Australian Health Review 46(5) 577-585 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22152
Submitted: 22 June 2022 Accepted: 17 July 2022 Published: 17 August 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Objective Health research priorities are commonly identified and resourced by strategic leaders. The importance of recognising the expertise of clinician-researchers is being prioritised by a national funding shift towards applied research. There is a dearth of evidence regarding research priorities for maternity care in rural and remote health in Australia. This study aimed to develop an evidence-based consensus of maternity research priorities in regional, rural, and remote areas of Australia’s largest rural health service (by land area) in Western Australia.
Methods A three-phased Delphi method was selected to achieve an interdisciplinary, evidence-based consensus on maternity research priorities within Western Australian Country Health Service.
Results Across three study phases, 432 participants responded. Representation was from seven regions and all stakeholder roles within the regions. Phase 1 included 173 responses yielding 53 concepts categorised under five domains. Phase 2 involved 161 participants who prioritised concepts under domains of (i) workforce and education; (ii) health equity; (iii) Aboriginal health; (iv) logistics and health systems; and (v) clinical. Phase 3 included 96 participants revealing 15 maternity research priorities with the top four ranked concepts: ‘recruitment and retention of staff’; ‘care for women and families with vulnerabilities’, ‘models of care offering continuity’ and ‘systems efficiencies’.
Conclusions The novel evidence provided in this study, in conjunction with a strong consensus on research priorities and an interdisciplinary approach, strengthens the findings of this study and amplifies the mandate of action without delay.
Keywords: interprofessional, maternity, perinatal, priorities, regional, remote, research, rural.
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