Improving women's experiences with gestational diabetes from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia: a qualitative study

Hiu Wing Rachel Lau; Johnathon Dong; Tessa Weir; Meenakshi Chopra; Lyn Olivetti; Gregory Fulcher; Sarah Glastras

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1291347

Improving women's experiences with gestational diabetes from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia: a qualitative study

Front Public Health. 2024 Jan 5:11:1291347. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1291347. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hiu Wing Rachel Lau¹, Johnathon Dong^{1

2}, Tessa Weir^{1

3}, Meenakshi Chopra⁴, Lyn Olivetti⁵, Gregory Fulcher², Sarah Glastras²

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
² North Sydney Endocrine Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.
³ Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic Service, Nepean Blue Mountains Hospital, Penrith, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Integrated Digital Enablement Accelerator (IDEA) Team, NSW Ministry of Health, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the fastest growing type of diabetes in many countries worldwide, including Australia. Although studies have explored the experiences of women with GDM from ethnic minority groups, few have compared their experiences with women from Anglosphere backgrounds.

Objective: To investigate the responses to diagnosis, the management of GDM, and the experiences of healthcare services among women with GDM from different culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Methods: Participants were recruited via convenience sampling by advertisement posted around antenatal clinics of three hospitals in NSLHD: Royal North Shore, Hornsby, and Manly Hospitals. The interviews were semi-structured, one-on-one, and in-person conducted by a trained female volunteer. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed into text. The data was analyzed via an inductive and descriptive coding approach. The codes were then categorized into main themes and sub-themes.

Results: 30 women (7 Australian-born, 11 Chinese, 8 Indians, and 4 Koreans) partook the semi-structured interviews and 5 themes were identified: (1) Reaction to diagnosis; (2) Management issues; (3) Roles of friends and family; (4) Information access; and (5) Experience with healthcare services. The lack of culturally tailored dietary information, social support and language barriers were the main factors underpinning the differences in GDM experiences among women from CALD backgrounds versus Australian-born.

Conclusion: Healthcare models should provide more emotional support upon diagnosis, culturally tailored guidelines for lifestyle modifications, and involve friends and family in care and management to enhance the experience of GDM for women from CALD backgrounds.

Keywords: antenatal care; delivery of health care; endocrinology; gestational diabetes; obstetrics; patient experience.

MeSH terms

Australia
Diabetes, Gestational*
Ethnicity
Female
Humans
Minority Groups
Pregnancy
Qualitative Research

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.