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

Problem: 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.

Setting: 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.

Key measures for improvement: 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.

Strategies for change: 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.

Effects of change: 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.

Lessons learnt: Nurses will work to their full scope of practice to increase accessibility of EMA and LARC in rural Australia.

Keywords: abortion; co-design; contraception; nursing; primary care.