Appendix 5 Interview schedules for focus groups with health professionals

5a. Interview schedule for focus group with all health professionals

Good afternoon, and welcome to our meeting. First of all we would like to thank you all for coming today and we look forward to hearing your contributions. My name is .......... I am a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, and I am currently involved in a study commissioned by the NDA, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the publicly funded Irish health services provided to women with disabilities during pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood. With me today is ................. a lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin.

You were asked to attend because you are the health professionals engaged in service provision for women with disabilities. Please feel free to share your point of view even if it differs from what others have said. There are no right or wrong answers but differing points of view.

Before we begin, can we establish some ground rules?

  1. Please feel free to speak
  2. One person should talk at a time
  3. We will be recording the discussion, so that we can listen to it afterwards, to ensure that we represent your experiences and views accurately. If several people are talking at the same time, the tape will be unable to capture the comments clearly
  4. The session will be recorded and notes will be transcribed during the session

The duration of the focus group discussion will be approximately 1 hour.

We would like you to consider the following questions for each of the five different strands (physical disability, hearing impairment; vision impairment; intellectual disability and mental health service users).

Questions

Opening Question:

Let's find out some more about each person. Can you tell us your name and background?

Key Questions:

  1. What from your professional perspective are the important needs of women from each of the different strands (physical disability, hearing impairment, vision impairment, intellectual disability and mental health service users) during pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood?
  2. What are your views on the quality of the services currently available to meet the needs of women and their families from all five strands (physical disability, hearing impairment; vision impairment; intellectual disability and mental health service users) including:
    • Information
    • Practical support
    • Psychological support
    • Financial support
    • Family support
    • Participation, decision making and choice
  3. What are the greatest challenges in delivering services for women and their families from all five strands (physical disability, hearing impairment, vision impairment, intellectual disability and mental health service users)?
  4. How can these challenges be addressed?

Summary and Conclusion

To conclude can we recap on the main issues that have been raised/discussed?

  • What are the three key issues in current service provision for each strand?
  • What are the three key issues in future service provision for each stand?
  • Of all the issues identified is there one that you would consider important in the provision of services for women with a disability during pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood?

Finally

  • Is there anything else of importance/relevance that you would like to add?

5b. Interview schedule for focus group with service providers from intellectual disability strand

Purpose

To explore service managers' perspectives on public health services for women with intellectual disability who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood.

Objectives

To find out:

  1. Services' experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood within their service users;
  2. The specific issues that pregnancy and early motherhood pose for intellectual disability services.
  3. Perceptions on access to, and responsiveness of, public health services for women with intellectual disability who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood.
  4. Perceptions on continuity of care between intellectual disability services and health services for service users who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood.
  5. Ideas to ensure that the needs of women with intellectual disabilities who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood are appropriately addressed.

Welcome and Introduction

 

Opening lines

Please feel free to share your point of view even if it differs from what others have said. There are no right or wrong answers but rather differing points of view.

Before we begin, let me share some ground rules. Please speak up clearly. Only one person should talk at a time. I will be recording the session because I don't want to miss any of your comments, but, please note that all contributions will be anonymised and neither your identity nor the identity of your service will be associated with transcribed material.

The aim of the meeting is to explore service managers' perspectives on public health services for women with intellectual disability who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood.

The session, this afternoon, will last, at most, 90 minutes, and the NDA have graciously provided a light lunch afterwards. Let's begin! I have placed name cards on the table in front of you to allow us to remember each other's names.

Opening Question:

1. Let's find out some more about each person, by going around the room one at a time. So, tell us your name and something about your involvement in service provision.

Introductory Question:

1. As the NDA study has progressed, we have become aware of a significant number of women with intellectual disabilities receiving ID services that are or have been pregnant. Tell me about the occurrence of any such instances in your services.

2. What challenges have these occurrences posed for your service and how have you responded to them?

Key Questions:

1. (In relation to pregnancy, childbirth, early motherhood or in relation to women's health) To what degree have public health services been responsive to the women's specific needs? Was there easy access to such services?

2. What lines of communication exist between your services and the maternity services in your locality? Was there good continuity of care?

3. Some women with intellectual disabilities with children have suggested that, whereas the ID services were supportive, community social services placed significant strain on their parenting abilities, apparently expecting failure. What are your thoughts on this?

4. Can you put forward any ideas to ensure that the needs of women with intellectual disabilities who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood are appropriately addressed?

Ending Questions:

1. Of all the issues discussed, is there one that you consider to be of paramount importance in relation to the needs of women with ID being met?

2. The aim of this meeting was to explore service managers' perspectives on public health services for women with intellectual disability who are pregnant, who have recently given birth or who are in the early stages of motherhood. From the issues discussed, can you think of anything else of importance or anything that we have forgotten?

Summary & Conclusion

 

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