PURPOSE:
Communities of practice (CoPs) offer a powerful mechanism to promote global collaboration, knowledge exchange, and collective action. In midwifery-led models of care, CoPs can be particularly valuable in scaling evidence-based midwifery models such as group care. This session will describe the experience of launching and sustaining a global group care CoP on the World Health Organization’s Implementing Best Practices (IBP) platform, as a subgroup of the Nursing and Midwifery CoP.

DISCUSSION:
We will explore the process of building the CoP—from initial stakeholder engagement and platform selection to defining focus areas and facilitating participation. The session will highlight both challenges (e.g., platform limitations, time zones, and engagement fatigue) and opportunities (e.g., shared learning, interdisciplinary participation, and momentum from global guidance such as the WHO antenatal care and postpartum care recommendations). Strategies to foster a vibrant and inclusive CoP will be shared, including co-led discussion threads, resource-sharing, and interactive virtual convenings.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Midwifery-led models of care such as group care have been shown to improve health outcomes, enhance patient satisfaction, and reduce disparities—particularly when care is continuous, community-based, and centered on relationships. Emerging engagement data, member feedback, and examples of cross-country collaboration will illustrate the CoP’s potential impact in introducing, scaling, and sustaining group care. The session will also draw on literature highlighting the role of CoPs in health systems change and professional development.

KEY MESSAGE:
Effective, well-facilitated CoPs can be a catalyst for advancing midwifery-led models like group care by supporting global knowledge exchange, peer support, and systems transformation. Poster session 1 (Group A)