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The aim of this study was to explore the factors that influenced women to choose care in a birth centre in the South Wales Valleys, and to ascertain their expectations and experiences of care in the antenatal period and during labour. The possibility of complications arising during normal pregnancy is a well-known phenomenon, leading to a woman's care being transferred from a midwife to an obstetrician. For women intending to give birth in the birth centre, this also meant having care transferred to the District General Hospital eight miles distant. Experiences of those women who had care transferred were of a particular interest. Even though transfer is a common occurrence, little research exploring the effects of this from the woman's perspective has been carried out. The study was qualitative, using thematic analysis based on Gadamerian phenomenological principles. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a purposeful sample of twenty women who described their antenatal experiences. Five of the women were later transferred from midwifery-led to obstetric-led care in the obstetric unit, with three of the transfers occurring during labour. A second interview was held with these five women to explore their experiences further. Key findings indicate that women choose the birth centre for its friendly, welcoming environment and woman-centred midwifery care. The influence and importance of family around the time of birth was a notable feature. Women transferred in labour subsequently experienced a different model of care, which for one woman meant that she remained empowered to make choices and decisions about her labour, whilst two other women felt some aspects of care to be mechanistic and impersonal. Recommendations from the study include further, larger scale research into women's experiences of transfer. Areas where specific guidance and education may be beneficial are suggested, to give a better understanding of those aspects of transfer that might affect women.

Cancer is emerging as a major problem globally and effective cancer care services are needed to lessen its burden on the community. In Greece, oncology health service provision is not located efficiently, resulting in only few patients receiving high quality care. Furthermore, shortages of health professionals and underdeveloped services such as primary care, home care and palliative care in the Greek NHS have aggravated the problem. The limited resources for healthcare have led to the absence of a national cancer registry, thus the extent of cancer incidence cannot be evaluated effectively. The dissatisfaction of the population regarding the Greek NHS is well established, despite the numerous reforms proposed by consecutive Greek governments. It remains that limited research exists in the area of oncology, especially on cancer services and cancer care. The aim of this study was to identify the key areas of cancer care and services that needed to be developed or improved in Greece and their prioritisation within the Greek healthcare system. Once identified, these areas of improvement could be used in a policy making context for the provision of effective services to cancer patients and might provide areas for further research A new Delphi technique (Q-Delphi) was introduced as an extension of the classical Delphi and implemented in two settings to collect data from a sample of 30 healthcare providers and 30 healthcare users. This was to reduce the potential subjectivity that may be introduced by the researcher in generating themes as an essential part of a successful Delphi outcome. The Q-Delphi of healthcare providers consisted of three rounds while that of the healthcare users was based on two rounds. The response rates for all rounds in both Q-Delphi studies were over 77%. The priorities for healthcare providers were focused on staff shortages, working conditions, pain management, home care, day units and communication. Healthcare users' highest priorities included the provision of and research on effective treatment, lessening the financial costs involved and the organisation of cancer services. Despite the separate Delphi studies, there were areas that both healthcare providers and users identified and prioritised. However, for the areas that both panels shared, there was a significant difference between their prioritisation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggestions for controlling cancer were used to triangulate, explain and discuss the results from this study (WHO 2002). The areas identified by healthcare providers and users were within those recommended by WHO. Based on the priorities provided by the participants and the suggestions by WHO, the establishment of a national cancer registry, the employment of nurses in order to develop primary care, home care, day care and palliative care services, education in communication skills and redistribution of the bio-medical technology are recommended in order to reduce the burden of cancer hi Greece. More research is needed to validate the actual level of cancer services provided in Greece. In addition, Q-Delphi is suggested as a valid and objective research method. For the benefit of Greek researchers, copies of documents used in conducting the research are also presented in Greek (Appendices 3 to 13 and 15).