Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia

Versace, Vincent L.; Smith, Tony; Sutton, Keith

doi:10.5694/mja2.51165

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…This review identified considerable variability in the application of geographical approaches to examine place of practice in rural health graduate research in Australia. A greater focus on the place of practice of medical graduates was also identified which reflects the maturity of medical tracking relative to nursing and allied health professions [90]. Findings illustrate application differences in the use of geographical classification systems and definitions of rurality across health professions over the past 10 years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Approaches Used to Describe, Measure, and Analyze Place of Practice in Dentistry, Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Rural Graduate Workforce Research in Australia: A Systematic Scoping Review

Beks

Walsh

Alston

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Redressing the maldistribution of the health workforce in regional, rural, and remote geographical areas is a global issue and crucial to improving the accessibility of primary health care and specialist services. Geographical classification systems are important as they provide an objective and quantifiable measure of access and can have direct policy relevance, yet they are not always consistently applied in rural health research. It is unclear how research focusing on the graduate health workforce in Australia has described, measured, and analyzed place of practice. To examine approaches used, this review systematically scopes Australian rural studies focusing on dentistry, medicine, nursing, and allied health graduates that have included place of practice as an outcome measure. The Joanna Brigg’s Institute Scoping Review Methodology was used to guide the review. Database searches retrieved 1130 unique citations, which were screened, resulting in 62 studies for inclusion. Included studies were observational, with most focusing on the practice locations of medical graduates and predicators of rural practice. Variations in the use of geographical classification approaches to define rurality were identified and included the use of systems that no longer have policy relevance, as well as adaptations of existing systems that make future comparisons between studies challenging. It is recommended that research examining the geographical distribution of the rural health workforce use uniform definitions of rurality that are aligned with current government policy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Approaches Used to Describe, Measure, and Analyze Place of Practice in Dentistry, Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Rural Graduate Workforce Research in Australia: A Systematic Scoping Review

Beks

Walsh

Alston

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Allied health workforce, services and location data collection will remain fragmented and will unlikely be representative of the actual workforce unless investment is made in more nationally streamlined regulation and data collection systems [ 118 ]. The Nursing and Allied Health Graduate Outcome Tracking (NAHGOT) study is a research collaboration that will address this gap in health workforce data by tracking graduates, providing a more comprehensive understanding of workforce trends over time that can inform planning [ 119 , 120 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of spatial measures to analyse health service accessibility in Australia: a systematic review and recommendations for future practice

Wood

Alston

Beks

et al. 2023

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Australia's inequitable distribution of health services is well documented. Spatial access relates to the geographic limitations affecting the availability and accessibility of healthcare practitioners and services. Issues associated with spatial access are often influenced by Australia's vast landmass, challenging environments, uneven population concentration, and sparsely distributed populations in rural and remote areas. Measuring access contributes to a broader understanding of the performance of health systems, particularly in rural/remote areas. This systematic review synthesises the evidence identifying what spatial measures and geographic classifications are used and how they are applied in the Australian peer-reviewed literature. Methods A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 2002 and 2022 was undertaken using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Search terms were derived from three major topics, including: [1] Australian population; [2] spatial analysis of health service accessibility; and [3] objective physical access measures. Results Database searches retrieved 1,381 unique records. Records were screened for eligibility, resulting in 82 articles for inclusion. Most articles analysed access to primary health services (n = 50; 61%), followed by specialist care (n = 17; 21%), hospital services (n = 12; 15%), and health promotion and prevention (n = 3; 4%). The geographic scope of the 82 articles included national (n = 33; 40%), state (n = 27; 33%), metropolitan (n = 18; 22%), and specified regional / rural /remote area (n = 4; 5%). Most articles used distance-based physical access measures, including travel time (n = 30; 37%) and travel distance along a road network (n = 21; 26%), and Euclidean distance (n = 24; 29%). Conclusion This review is the first comprehensive systematic review to synthesise the evidence on how spatial measures have been applied to measure health service accessibility in the Australian context over the past two decades. Objective and transparent access measures that are fit for purpose are imperative to address persistent health inequities and inform equitable resource distribution and evidence-based policymaking.

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Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia

Cited by 2 publications

References 3 publications

Approaches Used to Describe, Measure, and Analyze Place of Practice in Dentistry, Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Rural Graduate Workforce Research in Australia: A Systematic Scoping Review

Approaches Used to Describe, Measure, and Analyze Place of Practice in Dentistry, Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Rural Graduate Workforce Research in Australia: A Systematic Scoping Review

The application of spatial measures to analyse health service accessibility in Australia: a systematic review and recommendations for future practice

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