About the project
People who are healthy before pregnancy are more likely to have a successful pregnancy and healthy baby. In this project, you'll work with people of childbearing age, primary care professionals, and other stakeholders to co-develop an intervention to support patients prepare for pregnancy and parenthood through primary care settings.
About half of people in the UK who become pregnant (or whose partner becomes pregnant) do not plan their pregnancy, and nine in 10 enter pregnancy with at least one behavioural or medical risk factors, such as smoking or diabetes, for pregnancy complications such as stillbirth or pre-term birth.
Improving risk factors before pregnancy benefits the life-long health of parents and their children, but there are no health services that routinely support future parents through preconception care. Primary care has been identified as a key setting, but there is currently no guidance on best practice for the provision of preconception care in the primary care setting.
To fill this gap, the overall aim of the project is to co-develop approaches for use in primary care to better support patients to plan and prepare for pregnancy and parenthood.
You'll use intervention development methodology, such as the Person-Based Approach, and work closely with people of childbearing age, primary care and policy professionals, among other relevant stakeholders.
The project may involve a systematic review, and a series of qualitative studies, such as focus groups and/or interviews, to co-develop and test the intervention for implementation in primary care.
This project is part of a larger programme of research on preconception health and care. It is funded through an NIHR Advanced Fellowship, and supported by the UK Preconception Partnership. You will be part of a project group of researchers, clinicians and policy professionals, and work closely with a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group.
