CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: Midwifery Client Focus Group on Vaccination

What: A focus group for people who have ever used the services of a midwife in Canada, on the topic of vaccination.

When: Friday, September 27, 2019 at 3:00 PM

Where: Midwives Association of British Columbia, 175 E 15th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 2P6

How to participate: If you would like to register to join this Focus Group, please email Amanda LeRiche, aleriche@canadianmidwives.org or Karen Williams kwilliams@canadianmidwives.org with “Vancouver Client Focus Group” in the subject line.

Who We Are: The Canadian Association of Midwives is the professional association for midwives in Canada. Our mandate is to provide leadership for midwives in Canada, and to advocate for midwifery care to be available to all families in Canada as an autonomous, self-regulated, publicly funded part of primary perinatal and newborn care. CAM also develops and promotes resources to support normal birth and the midwifery model of care, providing midwives nationwide with information and resources they can use to guide their clients through informed and evidence-based decision making. CAM works closely with the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives and supports NACM as the voice of Indigenous midwifery in Canada.

Why this Focus Group: CAM is currently leading a project entitled Midwives and Vaccination: Delivering evidence-based care, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. This is a one-year project, running from April 2019 to March 31, 2020. NACM is a partner on this project. This project has two objectives:

1. Increase capacity of midwives to provide their clients with information and support on vaccines; and
2. Increase demand for vaccination among midwifery clients.

As part of this project, midwives from across the country will collaborate to write a Position Statement on vaccination. CAM will also develop, with support from NACM, resources for midwives and their clients around vaccination, including for Indigenous midwives and their clients. These resources will be based on research with midwives and their clients around their needs regarding vaccination. We want to know what clients expect from their midwives with regard to vaccination (the recommended vaccines of pregnancy, the post-partum period, and early infancy), and what information they need to make informed choices for themselves around this topic. We will be doing a survey with midwives and midwifery clients, and we are also running Focus Groups in a few sites across Canada, with midwives and with clients. 

What You Can Expect if You Choose to Participate in This Focus Group:

• The session will last about one hour.
• There will be around eight participants and one moderator from CAM staff.
• The Focus Group will be recorded, but it will be anonymized – your name will never be associated with the Group.
• Light snacks will be served.
• Focus Groups can never be fully confidential spaces – we will ask everyone present to sign a Nondisclosure Agreement, to maintain everyone’s privacy.
• The questions will focus on general discussion about what you recall learning about vaccination from your midwife, what information and/or support you would like to receive from your midwife around vaccination, what concerns, if any, you have around vaccination, and what resources on vaccination you would like to receive from your midwife.
• You will be offered $25 to thank you for your time. We will need to record your name for our financial records, but these records will not be associated with the recordings of the Focus Group or any analysis of the group.
• The session will be held at MABC’s offices. We cannot provide childcare, but you are welcome to bring infant children with you.
• Your participation will help midwives better understand how to work with their clients and will hopefully help future midwifery clients to be fully supported to make informed choices for themselves and their children.

Click here for details.