Evaluation of the Allied Health Rural Generalist Program 2017‐2019

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the development and implementation of the Allied Health Rural Generalist Program, a two-level online post-graduate education program, which includes Level 1, an entry-level non-award pathway program, and Level 2, a Graduate Diploma in Rural Generalist Practice. Design: A convergent mixed methodology evaluation in two overlapping stages: a process evaluation on quality and reach, together with a mixed method case study evaluation on benefits, of the program. Setting: Rural and remote Australia across ten sites and seven allied health professions: dietetics; occupational therapy; pharmacy; physiotherapy; podiatry; radiography; speech pathology. Participants: Process evaluation included 91 participants enrolled in all or part of the Rural Generalist Program. Case study evaluation included 50 managers, supervisors and Rural Generalist Program participants from the ten study sites. Interventions: The Allied Health Rural Generalist Program. Main outcome measures: Process evaluation data were derived from enrolment data and education evaluation online surveys. Case study data were gathered via online surveys and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently, analysed separately and then integrated to identify consistency, expansion or discordance across the data. Results: The Rural Generalist Program was viewed as an effective education program that provided benefits for Rural Generalist Program participants, employing organisations and consumers. Key improvements recommended included increasing profession-specific and context-specific content, ensuring Rural Generalist Program alignment with clinical and project requirements, strengthening support mechanisms within employing organisations and ensuring benefits can be sustained in the long term. Conclusion:The Rural Generalist Program offers a promising strategy for building a fit-for-purpose rural and remote allied health workforce.

Experiences of working as early career allied health professionals and doctors in rural and remote environments: a qualitative systematic review

“…A review by Roots and Li [ 62 ] also found career advancement limitations in rural areas for occupational therapists and physiotherapist was a challenge that negatively impacted job satisfaction and retention. A rural generalist pathway for early career allied health professionals was introduced in Australia 2014 [ 63 ] in an attempt to give early career clinicians the opportunity to develop specialised rural practice skills, leadership and service development skills. At the time of this review, the rural generalist pathway does not appear to lead to a recognised career path or endorsement of specialty status.…”

Profile of occupational therapy services in non‐urban settings: A global scoping review

“…Non‐urban contexts, while non‐homogenous and unique (Moran et al, 2021 ), are typified by small populations, separated by geographic distances, with limited access to infrastructure (Carson et al, 2011 ; Farias & Faleiro, 2021 ), thus, identifying sufficient population to provide a stratified service that may be fraught and contrasts with consistent non‐urban therapist reports citing the requirement of both generalist knowledge and practice approach (e.g. Barker et al, 2021 ; Orda et al, 2017 ; Roots et al, 2014 ; Woolley et al, 2019 ). Some of this contextual misunderstanding may result from the significant number of publications found reporting on services provided by occupational therapists not living in the non‐urban community they served, with many originating from urban spaces.…”

Experiences of working as early career allied health professionals and doctors in rural and remote environments: a qualitative systematic review

“…The development of specialties with associated career paths was not a focus of allied health papers, some ndings centred on opportunities for leadership in rural areas early in their career, while others reported the opposite with a lack of senior roles impacting on career advancement. A rural generalist pathway for early career allied health professionals was introduced in Australia 2014 (55) in an attempt to give early career clinicians the opportunity to develop specialised rural practice skills, leadership and service development skills. At the time of this review, the rural generalist pathway does not appear to lead to a recognised career path or endorsement of specialty status.…”