Teleoncology model of care allows rural and Indigenous cancer patients to receive specialist consultations and chemotherapy treatments closer to home, thus minimising the access difficulties faced by the rural sector.

THEnet evaluation framework is applicable and useful across contexts. It is possible and desirable to assess progress towards social accountability in health professional schools and this is an important step in producing health professionals with knowledge, attitudes, and skills to meet the challenges of priority health needs of underserved populations.

BackgroundThis article presents findings from a scoping review of tools used to measure oral health literacy. Internationally, interest in oral health literacy is driven by oral health disparities, particularly for disadvantaged groups, with conditions such as dental caries and periodontal disease contributing substantially to the global burden of disease. The increasing focus on measuring oral health literacy aligns with reasons for measuring broader health literacy, that is, by assessing oral health literacy, decisions can be made about instigating interventions at policy and practice level to improve individual and population level oral health. There are numerous tools available that measure oral health literacy using a range of indicators.MethodsA scoping review was designed to map the existing tools designed to measure oral health literacy (OHL). Key search terms were developed and mapped. Selected databases were used that identified 32 relevant studies reporting a range of OHL tools.ResultsWe identified 32 articles that reported a range of oral health literacy tools. Many of the studies used the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD) and/or the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Dentistry (ToFHLiD) that were developed from earlier tools designed to measure broader health literacy. These tools have been widely criticised for providing only an approximate measure of OHL based mainly on word recognition. A number of newer tools have included new measures of oral health literacy including numeracy and oral health conceptual knowledge however tools that measure important indicators of oral health literacy such as service navigation are rare.ConclusionsFindings from this scoping exercise confirm our findings from preliminary scans that the majority of tools are heavily biased towards word recognition, numeracy and reading skills, rather than what this means in terms of health behaviours and service utilisation. More recent developments have attempted to incorporate other aspects considered important, including decision making and service navigation. The incorporation of these aspects into newer tools will provide oral health researchers and policy makers with further evidence of the importance of oral health literacy when designing interventions to improve oral health.

Selection strategies to ensure that members of underserved communities can pursue medical careers can be effective in achieving a fair and equitable representation of underserved communities within the student body. Such strategies may contribute to a diverse medical student body with strong intentions to work with underserved populations.

This study identifies numerous psychosocial impacts on FIFO/DIDO miners and their partners, and provides insights into preferences regarding support. Employee Assistance Programs cannot be relied upon as the sole means of support. Further studies exploring the impact upon and supports for FIFO/DIDO workers and their partners will assist in better understanding these issues.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a community‐based, collaborative, shared antenatal care intervention (the Mums and Babies program) for Indigenous women in Townsville. Design and participants: Prospective cohort study of women attending Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service (TAIHS) for shared antenatal care with a singleton Indigenous birth between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003 (456 women; the MB group), compared with a historical control group of 84 women who attended TAIHS for antenatal care before the intervention between 1 January 1998 and 30 June1999, and a contemporary control group of 540 women who had a singleton birth at Townsville Hospital between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2003, but did not attend TAIHS for antenatal care. Intervention: Integration of previously autonomous service providers delivering shared antenatal care from TAIHS. Main outcome measures: Patterns of antenatal visits, proportion of women undertaking key antenatal screening, and perinatal outcomes. Results: The number of Indigenous women who entered the MB program and gave birth at Townsville Hospital rose from 23.8% in 2000 to 61.2% in 2003. The number of antenatal care visits per pregnancy increased from three (interquartile [IQ] range, 2–6) in the historical control group to seven (IQ range, 4–10) in the MB group (P < 0.001). 88% of women in the MB group had at least one ultrasound. About 90% of all women attending for antenatal care were screened for sexually transmitted infections. In the MB group, there was a significant reduction in preterm births compared with the contemporary control group (8.7% v 14.3%, P < 0.01). There was no significant reduction in the prevalence of low birthweight births or perinatal mortality. Conclusion: A community‐based collaborative approach to shared antenatal care services increased access to antenatal care and was associated with fewer preterm births among Indigenous women in Townsville. The model may be adaptable in other urban centres with multiple antenatal care providers and significant numbers of Indigenous people across Australia.

Community participation is considered important in primary health care development and there is some evidence to suggest it results in positive health outcomes. Through a process of synthesising existing evidence for the effectiveness of community participation in terms of health outcomes we identified several conceptual areas of confusion. This paper builds on earlier work to disentangle the conceptual gaps in this area, and clarify our common understanding of community participation. We conducted a research synthesis of 689 empirical studies in the literature linking rural community participation and health outcomes. The 37 final papers were grouped and analysed according to: contextual factors; the conceptual approach to community participation (using a modification of an existing typology); community participation process; level of evidence; and outcomes reported. Although there is some evidence of benefit of community participation in terms of health outcomes, we found only a few studies demonstrating higher levels of evidence. However, it is clear that absence of evidence of effect is not necessarily the same as absence of an effect. We focus on areas of debate and lack of clarity in the literature. Improving our understanding of community participation and its role in rural primary health care service design and delivery will increase the likelihood of genuine community-health sector partnerships and more responsive health services for rural communities.

Objectives: To assess the characteristics of Indigenous births and to examine the risk factors for preterm (<37 weeks), low birth weight (<2,500 g) and small for gestational age (SGA) births in a remote urban setting. Design: Prospective cohort of singleton births to women attending Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Services (TAIHS) for shared antenatal care between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003. Main outcome measures: Demographic, obstetric, and antenatal care characteristics are described. Risk factors for preterm birth, low birth weight and SGA births are assessed. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 25.0 years (95% CI 24.5-25.5), 15.8% reported hazardous or harmful alcohol use, 15.1% domestic violence, 30% had an inter-pregnancy interval of less than 12 months and 9.2% an unwanted pregnancy. The prevalence of infection was 50.2%. Predictors of preterm birth were a previous preterm birth, low body mass index (BMI) and inadequate antenatal care, with the subgroup at greatest risk of preterm birth being women with a previous preterm birth and infection in the current pregnancy. Predictors of a low birth weight birth were a previous stillbirth, low BMI and an interaction of urine infection and nonTownsville residence; predictors of an SGA birth were tobacco use, pregnancy-induced hypertension and interaction of urine infection and harmful alcohol use. Conclusion:The prevalence of demographic and clinical risk factors is high in this group of urban Indigenous women. Strategies addressing potentially modifi able risk factors should be an important focus of antenatal care delivery to Indigenous women and may represent an opportunity to improve perinatal outcome in