Issue addressed: This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an Australian Men's Shed Association's 'Spanner in the Works?' health promotion tent in reaching at-risk rural men during a large agricultural event in rural Australia. Methods:Men who self-presented to the health promotion tent had basic health measurements and risk scores recorded.These were linked to a short survey asking about their primary health care engagement. To determine the 'reach' afforded to health professionals through their presence at the agricultural event, the mean systolic blood pressure and waist circumference measures of participants were compared to those of rural men nationally using the ABS' National Health Survey 2017-2018 Basic Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF).Results: Of the 401 men who visited the health promotion tent, 346 (86.3%) consented to participate in the study. The median age of participating men was 56 years. The majority (94.0%) were from rural areas. Of participating men, 58.9% had high blood pressure, and their mean systolic blood pressure was significantly higher than that of rural men nationally: both overall (Mean difference = 15.37 mm Hg), and at all age groups. Participants also had significantly higher waist circumference overall (Mean difference = 2.06 cm), but this was only significantly different for the 45-54 age group. Conclusions:The 'Spanner in the Works?' initiative was effective in reaching both healthy and at-risk rural men from a range of ages.So what?: Aligned with the National Men's Heath Strategy 2020-2030, this evidences that agricultural events are an effective social setting for the provision of health promotion to 'at risk' rural men.
Background: Work-integrated learning (WIL) in rural communities provides students with important learning opportunities while also providing a service to those communities. To optimise the potential benefits of work-integrated learning for health students and rural communities it is important to explore the practices and outcomes of these experiences. Methods: This study used a qualitative research design underpinned by the theoretical framework of Theory of Practice Architectures to examine the way students learn during these placements. Purposive sampling was used to identify students for participation in the study. Seven students from the disciplines of paramedicine, physiotherapy, and speech pathology participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The learning described by the students was examined, followed by a critical interrogation of the data to assess how these learnings and associated practices were made possible given the site-specific practice architectures. The findings of the research are represented by three themes: learning affordances related to placement design, learning through relationships between people and professions, and learning through rural embeddedness. Conclusion: Being embedded in rural communities gave the students access to several arrangements that fostered learning, particularly through the sayings, relatings and doings that the students engaged with. This research demonstrates the transformative potential of rural WIL opportunities for learning and future rural practice.
Aims and Context As a University Department of Rural Health, we have identified recurrent areas of service need among vulnerable rural populations, specifically the need for allied health. Concurrently, we have also identified missed opportunities for deliberate collaborative practice in rural clinical placements. This paper provides a commentary on our work in progress as we work to leverage available opportunities to provide both service from and education for health profession students on rural clinical placements. Approach We developed a transdisciplinary placement model, informed by practice theory, which encompasses pre‐placement preparation, student support, host sites and clinicians, and a structured evaluation strategy. This model aims to facilitate service provision alongside of student learning about community and collaborative practice. In particular, the co‐design of the model is expected to facilitate student’s sense of social accountability and reduce stigma in working with vulnerable population groups. Conclusion This paper highlights the need for greater alignment between rural health education and practice, describes a placement model that is working towards this and showcases how this has been enacted in a remote community in New South Wales. More cross‐sector discussion and evaluation is needed to determine the implications of adopting this model more widely if service and learning opportunities are to be equally achieved, and to determine the ways in which training and service provision can be aligned with community need, as recommended in the recent Rural Health Commissioner Report.
Introduction: Clinical placements for students completing health degrees are vital for meeting work-integrated learning requirements and enabling students to develop a broad range of professional capabilities in authentic settings. Understanding the factors that influence the provision of clinical placements for health students from the perspectives of those providing the placements is essential, not only to sustain existing resources but also to expand opportunities to meet growing placement demand. Methods: A scoping review of articles with a focus on health student clinical placements within the international context, published between 2000–2020, was facilitated using seven databases, including Google Scholar and other sources. Results: A total of 2,283 records were identified. After removal of duplicates, 1,159 records were screened based on the title and abstract. Full-text review was conducted on 93 articles, and 48 of these publications were included in the final scoping review. Data from these articles were charted and four major themes emerged to illuminate factors that influence the provision of clinical placements for health students: institutional, personal, university engagement and student capability. Conclusion: Multiple factors influence the provision of clinical placements for health students from the perspectives of those who provide the placements. Understanding these factors is important to sustain existing resources and inform planning to increase placement provision sustainably into the future. From this scoping review, a clear gap in the literature is the perspectives and experiences of two distinct groups: health service managers and health clinicians
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.