Many decisions in maternity care involve trade-offs. Providing information on risk in a supportive way and involving people in decisions that affect them is both a moral imperative and a means by which satisfaction may be enhanced and the likelihood of litigation decreased.
We aim to co-design methods to improve risk communication to promote women’s choice in cases of asymmetric risk. We will:
- Prioritise maternal conditions that have asymmetric risks that require improved communication (Delphi surveys, stakeholder workshops).
- Collate the evidence on the magnitude of maternal and offspring risks for prioritised conditions.
- Co-develop with women and healthcare professionals, the optimal management for various risk thresholds (surveys, focus groups).
- Ascertain effective risk communication strategies for use in pregnancy for diverse groups of women through systematic reviews.
- Identify the barriers and facilitators faced by healthcare professionals (systematic review, surveys, focus groups) for effective risk communication.
- Understand relevant to how risk is communicated to and perceived by women from underrepresented groups (focus groups, workshops).
