Co-design of a nurse-led model of care to increase access to medical abortion and contraception in rural and regional general practice: A protocol.

Abstract

Women in rural and regional Australia experience a number of barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health care including lack of local services, high costs and misinformation. Nurse-led task-sharing models of care for provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and early medical abortion (EMA) are one strategy to reduce barriers and improve access to services but have yet to be developed in general practice. Through a co-design process, we will develop a nurse-led model of care for LARC and EMA provision that can be delivered through face-to-face consultations or via telehealth in rural general practice in Australia. A co-design workshop, involving consumers, health professionals (particularly General Practitioners (GPs) and Practice Nurses (PNs)), GP managers and key stakeholders will be conducted to design nurse-led models of care for LARC and EMA including implant insertion by nurses. The workshop will be informed by the 'Experience-Based Co-Design' toolkit and involves participants mapping the patient journey for service provision to inform a new model of care. Recommendations from the workshop will inform a nurse-led model of care for LARC and EMA provision in rural general practice. The model will provide practical guidance for the set-up and delivery of services. Nurses will work to their full scope of practice to increase accessibility of EMA and LARC in rural Australia.