CLARITY IN COLLABORATION: ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC COMMENT TO MIDWIFERY CONCEPT DEFINITIONS

Purposes/Aims: To clarify midwifery and collaborative care concept definitions through a process of qualitative content analysis of public comments acquired during a national survey.

Background/Significance: Standard clinical definitions are crucial to building a national data infrastructure. Nurses, providers and researchers need precise and accurate definitions for key concepts and process in perinatal care. As one of the stakeholders in the ReVITALize Initiative, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) partnered with other women’s health organizations to clarify, refine and standardize data definitions specific to maternity care. This portion of the larger project describes the analysis of 524 public comments on proposed concept definitions related to midwifery care. 

Methods/Strategy: Twenty-one concept definitions related to midwifery and collaborative care were e-mail to key stakeholder for public comment in August-September 2014. Of these 21 concepts, 8 had ≤ 90% support, suggesting needed revision or clarification. The participant feedback on each of these 8 concepts were analyzed using the Thorne’s method of qualitative interpretive description. Two qualitative researchers immersed themselves in the data, repeatedly reading participant comments, and then individually coded all comments.  The two researchers then discussed the individual results and derived themes and representative quotes for each of the concepts.

Outcomes Achieved:  Data will be used by the ACNM reVITALize committee to refine conceptual definitions of midwifery care in December 2014, with results available spring 2015.

Conclusions: While electronic medical records allow for creation of large databases of perinatal information, precise definitions ensure that process and outcomes data from multiple sites and providers are comparable.  While an expert committee crafted the definitions, comments from key stakeholders, including clinicians, ensures concepts are comprehensive and clear.  This project systematically analyzes public comments; the incorporation public and stakeholder feedback will enhance accuracy and encourage clinician engagement in research.