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About us

Research and evaluation

Highlighting the Value of the Lead Diabetes Midwives Network

June 2011 – August 2011

Background

NHS Diabetes worked with The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) to produce Lead Midwife in Diabetes: Standards, Role and Competencies (PDF 560KB), a resource designed to underpin and strengthen midwifery and maternity care for women whose pregnancy may be complicated by diabetes. During the development of this document, NHS Diabetes identified midwifes responsible for the care of women with diabetes in Trusts across England, enabling the development of a Network of Diabetes Specialist Midwives. The network is now hosted by NHS Networks, having 162 members, and aims to enable often isolated individuals to share good practice and experience with each other.

Aim of this evaluation

To assess the perceived benefits of the network to its members.
To identify any barriers against participating in the network.
To identify suggestions for improvement of the network.

Methodology

All network members were invited to complete a previously validated electronic questionnaire developed by the NHS Diabetes Research and Evaluation team, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Invitations to participate were sent via an e-mail from the NHS Diabetes Midwives Network Co-ordinator, along with a message on the diabetes specialist midwife network forum. Data was collected over a three week period, with a follow-up email to those not completing after one week.

Quantitative data will provide insights into numbers of members actively using the network, along with their levels of usage. A qualitative thematic analysis of the data will also be carried out to establish: the key benefits of network membership; changes in working practice as a result of network membership; barriers against participating; and suggestions for improving the network.

Outcomes

An evaluation report highlighting benefits of membership, barriers against participating, and suggestions for improvement, will be published in October 2011.
Evaluation success stories will be produced highlighting the perceived value of the network.