This study is registered in the COMET database [17]. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Galway University Hospitals Research Ethics Committee (reference CA 1905).
The three work packages of the study were: (1) a systematic review of literature that identified all the outcomes reported in clinical trials that involved the long-term follow-up of this population; (2) a Delphi survey in which all outcomes were scored and prioritised by key stakeholder groups to provide a preliminary list of final outcomes; and (3) a consensus meeting where the final list of outcomes was decided.
Systematic review
Using a broad-based search strategy, the following databases were searched for relevant studies between October 2017 and February 2018: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. ClinicalTrials.gov was also searched for relevant ongoing trials. The reference lists of all included studies were searched for additional studies not retrieved from the electronic database search. There was no time restriction on the date of publication of the studies. There was no language restriction applied to the search strategy. Only RCTs and RCT follow-up studies were included in the systematic review (an example of the search strategy is presented in the electronic supplementary material [ESM] Methods).
In step 1, all identified study titles were reviewed and ineligible studies excluded (F.P. Dunne and D. Bogdanet). In step 2, the remaining studies were appraised by two reviewers (F.P. Dunne and D. Bogdanet) who independently assessed the titles and abstracts of each study included at this stage. Full texts of studies meeting the inclusion criteria and studies for which there was uncertainty regarding inclusion at the title/abstract screening stage were retrieved and reviewed independently (F.P. Dunne and D. Bogdanet). The same two authors extracted the data independently, reviewed the data together, assessed consensus and ensured that all outcomes were identified. Following review by F.P. Dunne, D. Devane, D. Bogdanet, L. Biesty, A. M. Egan and P. M. O’Shea (the study advisory group [SAG]), extracted outcomes were grouped under the following domains: laboratory tests, clinical conditions, physiological variables, diet and exercise, psychological variables and other.
Delphi method
We conducted a three-round eDelphi survey [18]. This facilitated international participation. Questionnaires were completed online using SurveyMethods software (www.surveymethods.com, SurveyMethods, Dallas, TX, USA, accessed 9 May 2018). Full details of our methods are given in Bogdanet et al (2019) [19] and are described briefly below.
The stakeholder groups comprised: women with a previous diagnosis of GDM, endocrinologists, diabetes nurses, obstetricians, midwives, paediatricians, neonatologists, general practitioners, practice nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists, researchers with expertise in gestational diabetes, policy makers and others (which included clinicians with expertise in gestational diabetes from specialties other than endocrinology and obstetrics, epidemiologists, clinical biochemists and healthcare assistants).
Invitation emails were sent to societies and individual members of the IADPSG, Diabetes Ireland, Irish Endocrine Society (IES), IDF, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG), Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI), Association of Clinical Biochemists in Ireland (ACBI), Irish Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Saolta Healthcare Group (Ireland), EASD, Diabetic Pregnancy Study Group (DPSG) of the EASD and the Royal College of Physicians Ireland (RCPI) (divisions of Endocrinology, Obstetrics and Endocrinology and Paediatrics). All participants were asked to forward the invitation to others whom they regarded as having the required expertise. Additionally, women with a history of GDM were contacted through their clinic by the authors and by additional study participants and, following consent, were forwarded the survey link or given a printed form of the survey. Women with GDM were from a number of clinics; the final group who participated in the consensus meeting were from the Galway clinic.
Study participants gave informed consent prior to the submission of any answers and the following information was also requested: name, email address, sex, stakeholder group and country of residence. Participants were given information about the study and about COSs. Participants were encouraged to complete the eDelphi questionnaire in each round. An email reminder was sent to anyone who did not respond after 7 and 14 days and also 3 days and 1 day before the end of the round.
In the first round of the survey, all the outcomes identified in the systematic review were presented to the participants grouped by domain. The study participants were asked to rate each outcome on a nine-point Likert scale (1–3 limited importance; 4–6 important but not critical, 7–9 critical). We provided all participants with plain English explanations of the outcomes included in the survey. Participants were invited to suggest additional relevant outcomes (no limit to the number of outcomes suggested) using free-text responses. If two or more study participants nominated an outcome, that outcome was included in round 2 of the survey.
All stakeholder groups were grouped into three broader groups, i.e. clinicians, women with a previous diagnosis of GDM and researchers/policy makers. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the results from round 1. We sent individual results, the results of each stakeholder group and the results of the total group to each study participant. All outcomes including the additional outcomes suggested in round 1 (by two or more participants) were carried forward to round 2. All respondents to round 1 were invited to participate in round 2 and asked to re-rate the outcomes. All outcomes that scored 7–9 on the Likert scale in ≥70% of answers and 1–3 in <15% of answers were carried forward to round 3. Each participant who completed round 2 was emailed their individual results and the results of each stakeholder group and the total group and was invited to participate in round 3 and re-score retained outcomes. Outcomes were classified as ‘consensus in’ (≥70% participants scoring as 7–9 and <15% scoring as 1–3) or ‘consensus out’ (≥70% scoring as 1–3 and <15% scoring as 7–9). The ‘consensus in’ and borderline outcomes were brought forward to the consensus meeting.
Consensus meeting
The consensus meeting involved representatives from each stakeholder group. The participants discussed each outcome brought forward from round 3. If necessary, the outcomes were grouped or renamed in order to facilitate dissemination and usefulness. At the end of the discussion, each participant voted ‘outcome in’ or ‘outcome out’ using the app Poll Everywhere (San Francisco, CA, USA, accessed 27 September 2018) on their electronic device, thus concealing their identity. Outcomes that scored over 70% ‘outcome in’, were included in the final COS.