Objective: Continuous interprofessional support for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is not standardized in Japan creating a gap in care. The purpose of this study was to assess the intention and perceived barriers to implementing an integrated GDM clinical care pathway that we developed towards resolving the GDM gaps in care in hospitals.

Methods: This study was a convergent parallel mixed methods design. Participants were health professionals who cared for women with GDM. The clinical care pathway was presented to the participants through an e-leaning format. A 41-item questionnaire was developed for the online survey and analyzed by descriptive statistics. Semi-structured interviews also provided participants' views about those same content areas. Framework analysis and content analysis were conducted for qualitative data.

Results: A total of 77 participants were recruited for the online survey and 19 participants for the semi-structured interviews. Most participants had positive intentions to implement the integrated GDM clinical care pathway. However, there were various potential barriers in terms of the feasibility of implementation, stemming from: a) the difficulty of implementation of the long-term clinical care pathway into hospitals, and collaboration with the local facilities; b) lack of time and resources as many issues take priority over GDM, and c) insufficient knowledge, skill, and self-confidence among nursing staff to implement the GDM clinical care pathway.

Conclusion: The intention to implement the GDM clinical care pathway was generally positive. However, potential barriers to implementation need to be addressed before implementing the pathway into hospitals.