Doulas, women who primarily provide social support during childbirth, have been associated with a number of positive health outcomes. Because the primary model of practice for doulas is a fee-for-service model in which families privately hire a doula, many expectant women who could benefit from doula support are unable to access the service. The Doulas Care program, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents one model in which doulas provide services without charge. As a result of their extended role in the community, doulas who work with the Doulas Care program have unique educational needs. Through the use of focus groups with the program's volunteer doulas, educational needs related to overcoming barriers to being a doula working in the community were identified. Recommendations for education and training are made to improve the support doulas offer as community health outreach workers.

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Objective: A genetics service wanted to gain an insight into the experiences of families with an inherited cardiac condition in order to design a new pilot service around family needs. Design: A focus group was held to understand from a family perspective what was important within the service. Interventions: Five families that had already been through the service were invited to share their experiences. Results: Three families attended. The facilitators noted the main points of what was discussed. The common themes were the time taken from the diagnosis or death of the family member to getting help and support. The lack of awareness of where to get the help required. Families felt unsupported after a sudden death. Conclusions: The families welcomed the opportunity to share their stories and the chance to improve the service for future users. An action plan was devised to include what they saw was important in a service.

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