City Research Online

Abstract

Background
Members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team all have an important role to play in conducting clinical research and implementing its findings, yet researchers continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining participants. In maternity research, midwives are often integral to the success of studies; however, their views about their role are often overlooked or underreported.

Aims
The principal aim of this scoping review is to explore and synthesise literature on midwives’ views of being involved in clinical research, both as facilitators and participants. Through this synthesis, we explore how clinical research is undertaken and what shapes it in settings where midwives provide the majority of care.

Methods
Using Askey and O’Malley’s scoping review approach, we undertook systematic searches and screening to identify relevant articles published between 1993 and 2026. A reflexive, interpretive process of thematic analysis was employed to analyse and synthesise data extracted from articles.

Findings
Eighteen articles were eligible for review and analysis. Our analysis identified four themes: Being involved, Midwifery worldview, Involving others and Ethicality. The themes are interconnected and touch on issues of communication, knowledge, time and midwives’ professional identity and expertise.

Conclusion
Despite the increasing amount of clinical research on maternity care, there is comparatively little published on midwives’ views of the research process, particularly from outside of the UK. There is also a compelling case for reassessing the ethics of doing research during labour and birth, especially concerning informed consent.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	Midwives, Clinical trials, Medical research, Maternal health, Scoping review
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Department of Nursing & Midwifery
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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