Could Education Be the Best Galactagogue? Development and Content Validation of Provider and Patient Checklists to Promote Lactation Among Black Parents

One of the factors contributing to the disparities still present by race in the United States may be inequitable access to lactation education. In order to ensure that all parents receive the education they deserve to make informed infant feeding decisions, two checklists were created for patient and healthcare professional use, respectively. This paper describes the process of creating and validating the healthcare professional and patient checklists. The authors completed a review of the most recent literature surrounding barriers to lactation initiation and retention in the Black community to create the initial version of the checklists. Expert consultation was then utilized to assess their content validity. Local healthcare providers unanimously agreed that pregnant and postpartum parents need more education and support than currently provided. The consulted experts described the two checklists as useful and comprehensive and offered feedback for their revision and optimization. Implementing these checklists offer the possibility of increasing provider accountability in delivering adequate lactation education and enhancing client lactation knowledge and self-efficacy. Further research is needed to assess the effect of implementation of the checklists in a healthcare setting.

Automated summary

One possible factor contributing to racial disparities in the United States is inequitable access to lactation education. To address this issue, two checklists were created for patients and healthcare professionals to ensure that all parents receive the education they need to make informed infant feeding decisions. The process of creating and validating these checklists is described in this paper. The initial versions of the checklists were developed based on a review of the literature on barriers to lactation initiation and retention in the Black community, and expert consultation was used to assess their content validity. Healthcare providers agreed that more education and support are needed for pregnant and postpartum parents. The experts found the checklists useful and comprehensive and provided feedback for revisions and improvements. Implementing these checklists could increase provider accountability in delivering adequate lactation education and improve clients' lactation knowledge and self-efficacy. Further research is required to evaluate the effect of implementing these checklists in a healthcare setting.