The Use of Patient Engagement to Gather Perceptions on the Cost of Infant Feeding

PURPOSE: Patient-oriented research (POR) and patient engagement (PE) has highlighted the value of incorporating patients’ ideas and priorities in health research. Using the guiding principles of POR and PE, the current study conducted PE sessions to gain insight on the perceptions of mothers regarding the costs of infant feeding. METHODS: Four patient engagement sessions were held with mothers residing in Newfoundland and Labrador between November 2019 and January 2020. Mothers were targeted through the Brighter Futures Coalition of St. John’s, a not-for-profit community organization. PE sessions were designed in a two-hour format, allowing the research team to engage mothers and identify costs of infant feeding from a mothers’ perspective. RESULTS: Through the guiding principles of patient-oriented research and patient engagement, our research team successful engaged with mothers in discussions surrounding the costs of infant feeding. The sessions allowed for an in-depth discussion surrounding monetary costs (eg, incidentals of breast or formula feeding), the associated costs of infant feeding and the workplace (eg, perceived productivity) and environment impacts (eg, single use plastics). During each session, evaluations were provided to solicit feedback on whether the goals and expectations of mothers had been met, and whether they felt their opinions were heard and understood. CONCLUSION: By conducting patient engagement sessions, informed by patient-oriented research guiding principles, we were able to successfully recruit and engage mothers in discussions that led to a better understanding of their perspectives on the costs of infant feeding.