Priorities for research on in-hospital management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Ghana, a priority setting partnership.

Background: Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages with a focus on reducing maternal mortality. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) are still a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity in lower middle-income countries (LMIC), including Ghana. While there is active research into HDPs, resources are limited and should be allocated conscientiously. Priorities for research differ between various stakeholders: policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and patients. Stakeholders’ voices have not always been sufficiently included in priority setting, even though they are the ultimate beneficiaries.  

Aim: We aim to identify and prioritize needs for future research on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Ghana according to the opinions of various stakeholders, including, but not limited to: patients and their relatives, healthcare professionals, policy makers and funding organizations, keeping in mind the principles of public health: availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ).  

Methods: The James Lind Alliance (JLA) approach to a priority setting partnership (PSP), an established and effective approach, involving various stakeholders, to arrive at consensus for research priorities will be tailored to the Ghanaian context. Stakeholders will be invited to participate in two (online) surveys,  identifying and ranking clinical uncertainties, respectively. After the first, open question survey, we will summarize and categorize the given answers, so we can provide participants with a list of clinical uncertainties to choose and rank their top 10. We will invite stakeholders who are difficult to reach online to focus group discussions (FDGs) and interviews complementing the online surveys. In the final prioritization workshop, the highest ranked items will be discussed, and a shared top 10 will be composed.  

Expected results: The results, expected November 2022, will be published in an open access scientific article for all to be used and inform future decisions on research questions.