Appendix B Terms of reference

Modules I and II

Expert Advisory Committee

The Expert Advisory Committee will convene to:

1. provide advice, expertise and direction on the appropriateness of the guidelines to promote optimal care for pregnant women across Australia.
2. supervise the parties that are commissioned to:
   1. consult with a number of advisory groups to draft and review evidence-based guidelines as well as national and international literature on antenatal care with specific attention to the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pregnant women and their families, migrant and refugee women their families and other vulnerable groups
   2. consult widely to develop evidenced based guidelines that will function as a useful resource for health professionals and will be of interest and relevance to pregnant women and their families in a variety of Australian health care contexts
   3. undertake analysis of harms and benefits in the Australian context and determine the costs/benefits and cost effectiveness of proposed interventions in accordance with available literature
   4. produce a dissemination plan for the implementation and determine a process for ongoing monitoring of clinical uptake of the guidelines
3. ensure the guidelines are developed in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) protocols and are approved by the NHMRC.

Working Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Antenatal Care

The Working Group will:

1. provide advice, expertise and direction on the appropriateness of the Guidelines to promote optimal care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pregnant women across Australia
2. review draft evidence-based Guidelines and provide advice to ensure relevance and applicability of the Guidelines to the cultural and health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pregnant women
3. identify additional questions and appropriate sources of evidence
4. identify appropriate sources of evidence relevant to guideline topics, additional to those identified in formal literature searches (this may include grey literature and other unpublished sources)
5. provide advice and draft practice points, where relevant
6. provide advice to the technical writer regarding appropriate terminology and language used throughout the guideline document
7. in consultation with the technical writer contribute to the drafting of a separate guidance around cultural and other issues relevant to antenatal care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
8. provide advice regarding the implementation of the Guidelines in settings where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women receive pregnancy care
9. identify areas and topics for future guideline documents
10. provide ideas for making guidelines as practical as possible.

Working Group for Migrant and Refugee Women’s Antenatal Care

The Working Group will:

1. provide advice, expertise and direction on the appropriateness of the Guidelines to promote optimal care for migrant and refugee pregnant women across Australia
2. review draft evidence-based Guidelines and provide advice to ensure relevance and applicability of the Guidelines to the cultural and health needs of migrant and refugee pregnant women
3. identify additional questions and appropriate sources of evidence
4. identify appropriate sources of evidence relevant to guideline topics, additional to those identified in formal literature searches (this may include grey literature and other unpublished sources)
5. provide advice and draft practice points, where relevant
6. provide advice to the technical writer regarding appropriate terminology and language used throughout the guideline document
7. in consultation with the technical writer contribute to the drafting of a separate guidance around cultural and other issues relevant to antenatal care for migrant and refugee women
8. provide advice regarding the implementation of the Guidelines in settings where migrant and refugee women receive pregnancy care
9. identify areas and topics for future guideline documents
10. provide ideas for making guidelines as practical as possible.

2016–17, 2017–19 and 2019–20 reviews

The Expert Advisory Committee will oversee the review and revision of the National Evidence‐based Clinical Practice Guidelines — Antenatal Care (incorporating both Modules I and II of the Guidelines). The role of the Expert Advisory Committee will include:

• providing advice, expertise and direction in relation to the combining of the two modules, and the review of the Guidelines to promote optimal care for pregnant women across Australia;
• reviewing the existing Guidelines to identify topics and guidelines that require updating;
• advising on the review of national and international literature on antenatal care to inform amendments required to the existing Guidelines;
• identifying any new topics and drafting new evidence‐based guidelines for inclusion in the Guidelines;
• developing a plan and strategies to promote and disseminate the finalised Guidelines to ensure clinical uptake of the Guidelines;
• advising on the development of a consultation strategy (in the event that the review results in major changes to the existing Guidelines or the inclusion of new guidelines); and
• ensuring the review is conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) protocols and submitted to the NHMRC for approval.