6. Co-design to inform shared decision-making tools for pregnant women with FGM in primary care

Abstract

There is strong evidence that involving women in the design of healthcare and decisions relating to a woman's own care leads to more satisfactory, safer, higher quality care and improved health outcomes. Shared decision-making can facilitate effective communication between a woman and her doctor to develop a shared understanding of an issue and generate a mutually acceptable evaluation and management plan if required. There is no research examining the co-design of decision-making tools for women with FGM. We undertook an experience-based co-design research study to deliver evidence to inform the development of ethnically congruent communication and conceptions of health to improve reproductive health care decision-making. Individual and group discussions were conducted with primary care doctors and women from four communities in Australia to elicit stories of care encounters. These discussions were informed by praxis intervention, a form of action research that empowers participants to take a critical, yet fresh look at interactions in reproductive healthcare contexts to identify solutions and approaches to co-designing decision-making tools.