A qualitative study on professionals’ attitudes and views towards the introduction of patient reported measures into public maternity care pathway

Background The importance and potential benefits of introducing patient reported measures (PRMs) into health care service have been widely acknowledged, yet the experience regarding their implementation into practice is limited. There is a considerable paucity of research in adopting PRMs in maternity care routine. This study, which utilizes the PRMs included in Pregnancy and Childbirth (PCB) outcome set developed by International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) as sample measures, aims to elicit Finnish professionals’ views on PRMs and to explore the applicability of PRMs in Finnish public maternity care. Methods This qualitative study, applying semi-structured interviews, described the local professionals’ views towards the application of PRMs in Finnish public maternity care. Professionals were asked to assess the PRMs defined in ICHOM PCB set and provide their expectations and concerns on the implementation of PRMs in Finnish public maternity service. Results Twenty professionals participated in the interviews. Participants agreed on the importance and relevance of the PRMs questions included in ICHOM PCB set for delivering and developing maternity care in Finland. However, they criticized the number and length of questions as well as the recommended time points of data collection. In addition, for a successful implementation, various steps like developing suitable questions, redesigning service pathway and protocols, and motivating women to respond to PRMs questions were considered to be important. Also, some potential obstacles, difficulties and risks associated with the implementation were underlined. Conclusion This study indicates that the implementation of PRMs into Finnish public maternity service is possible, highly relevant and important. However, the adoption of PRMs into routine practice may be challenging and will require a series of efforts. This study shows viewpoints from Finnish professionals who have not participated in developing the ICHOM PCB standard set and provides important insights on the development and implementation of PRMs.

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Introducing Patient Reported Measures (PRMs) Into Finnish Public Maternity Service: A Study on Professionals’ Views

Background: The importance and potential benefits of introducing patient reported measures (PRMs) into health care service have been widely acknowledged, yet the experience regarding their implementation into practice is limited. There is a considerable paucity of research in adopting PRMs in maternity care. This study, which utilizes the PRMs included in Pregnancy and Childbirth (PCB) outcome set developed by International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) as sample measures, aims to elicit Finnish professionals’ views on PRMs and to explore the applicability of PRMs in Finnish public maternity care. Methods: This qualitative study, applying semi-structured interviews, is designed to describe the local professionals’ views towards the application of PRMs in Finnish public maternity care. Professionals were asked to assess the PRMs defined in ICHOM PCB set and provide their expectations and concerns on the implementation of PRMs in Finnish public maternity service. Results: Twenty professionals participated in the interviews. Participants agreed on the importance and relevance of the PRMs questions included in ICHOM PCB set for delivering and developing maternity care in Finland. However, they criticized the number and length of questions as well as the recommended time points of data collection. In addition, for a successful implementation, various steps like developing suitable questions, redesigning service pathway and protocols, and motivating patients were considered to be important. Also, some potential obstacles, difficulties and risks associated with the implementation were underlined. Conclusion: This study indicates that the implementation of PRMs into Finnish public maternity service is possible, highly relevant and important. However, the adoption of PRMs into routine practice may be challenging and will require a series of efforts. This study shows viewpoints from Finnish professionals who have not participated in developing the ICHOM PCB standard set and provides important insights on the development and implementation of PRMs.

Involving service users in Births and their outcomes: a retrospective birth cohort data linkage study analysing daily, weekly and yearly cycles and their implications for the NHS

IntroductionWe report on service user participation in ‘Births and their Outcomes’, a population-based, retrospective, birth cohort, data linkage study to analyse the daily, weekly and yearly cycles of births and their implications for the NHS. Although Public Involvement and Engagement (PI&E), also referred to here as Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), has a long history in maternity services, PI&E in maternity data linkage studies is new. We have reported using the GRIPP2 short form. ObjectivesWe aimed to involve and engage a wide range of maternity service users and their representatives to ensure that our use of routinely collected maternity and birth records was acceptable and that our research analyses using linked data were relevant to their expressed safety and quality of care needs. MethodsA three-tiered approach to PPI was used. Having both PPI co-investigators and PPI members of the Study Advisory Group ensured service user involvement was part of the strategic development of the project. A larger constituency of maternity service users was engaged through four workshops held throughout England. ResultsTwo co-investigators with experience of PPI in maternity research were involved from design stage to dissemination. Four PPI study advisors contributed service user perspectives. Engagement workshops attracted around 100 attendees, recruited largely from Maternity Services Liaison Committees and a community engagement group. They supported use of the data, believing the study had potential to improve safety and quality of maternity services. They contributed their experiences and concerns which will assist with interpretation of the analyses. ConclusionUse of PPI ‘knowledge intermediaries’ successfully bridged the gap between data intensive research and lived experience, but more inclusivity in involvement and engagement is required. The concerns and questions of service users provide social legitimacy and a relevance framework for researchers carrying out analyses.