Factors influencing occupational therapy students' perceptions of rural and remote practice

McAuliffe, Tomomi; Barnett, Fiona

doi:10.22605/rrh1078

Cited by 30 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…This includes high-income countries, such as the USA [26, 27, 60], Canada [72–75] and Australia [69, 70, 76–78]. Care rationing may come as a result [79].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, some rehabilitation education programs might focus on the competencies for working in underserved contexts, while clinical education and field experience in those locations are also useful [59, 73, 75, 78, 101–103, 111]. This can be complemented by attracting students from underserved regions, through a mix of financial (scholarships, stipends) and non-financial incentives (in-kind benefits, mentorship) [1, 72, 73, 78, 80].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This can be complemented by attracting students from underserved regions, through a mix of financial (scholarships, stipends) and non-financial incentives (in-kind benefits, mentorship) [1, 72, 73, 78, 80]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

et al. 2017

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BackgroundPeople with disabilities face challenges accessing basic rehabilitation health care. In 2006, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) outlined the global necessity to meet the rehabilitation needs of people with disabilities, but this goal is often challenged by the undersupply and inequitable distribution of rehabilitation workers. While the aggregate study and monitoring of the physical rehabilitation workforce has been mostly ignored by researchers or policy-makers, this paper aims to present the ‘challenges and opportunities’ for guiding further long-term research and policies on developing the relatively neglected, highly heterogeneous physical rehabilitation workforce.MethodsThe challenges were identified through a two-phased investigation. Phase 1: critical review of the rehabilitation workforce literature, organized by the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ) framework. Phase 2: integrate reviewed data into a SWOT framework to identify the strengths and opportunities to be maximized and the weaknesses and threats to be overcome.ResultsThe critical review and SWOT analysis have identified the following global situation: (i) needs-based shortages and lack of access to rehabilitation workers, particularly in lower income countries and in rural/remote areas; (ii) deficiencies in the data sources and monitoring structures; and (iii) few exemplary innovations, of both national and international scope, that may help reduce supply-side shortages in underserved areas.DiscussionBased on the results, we have prioritized the following ‘Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges’: (1) monitoring supply requirements: accounting for rehabilitation needs and demand; (2) supply data sources: the need for structural improvements; (3) ensuring the study of a whole rehabilitation workforce (i.e. not focused on single professions), including across service levels; (4) staffing underserved locations: the rising of education, attractiveness and tele-service; (5) adapt policy options to different contexts (e.g. rural vs urban), even within a country; and (6) develop international solutions, within an interdependent world.ConclusionsConcrete examples of feasible local, global and research action toward meeting the Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges are provided. Altogether, these may help advance a policy and research agenda for ensuring that an adequate rehabilitation workforce can meet the current and future rehabilitation health needs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12960-017-0182-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…This includes high-income countries, such as the USA [26, 27, 60], Canada [72–75] and Australia [69, 70, 76–78]. Care rationing may come as a result [79].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

et al. 2017

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“…1 Recruitment and retention of staff in rural and remote areas continue to be challenging, with issues of professional isolation, limited resources, complex service demands and time and distance barriers to accessing support. [2][3][4] Professional supervision, henceforth referred to as supervision, is one method to support health professionals that has demonstrated widespread benefits to health professionals, patients and organisations in metropolitan settings. [5][6][7] There have been repeated calls for coordinated professional support programs [8][9][10] and there are known initiatives being evaluated across the nation [11][12][13][14] ; however, there remains a lack of peer-reviewed, published literature relevant to rural and remote allied health services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oceans apart, yet connected: Findings from a qualitative study on professional supervision in rural and remote allied health services

Ducat

Martin

Kumar

et al. 2015

Australian J Rural Health

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ObjectiveImproving the quality and safety of health care in Australia is imperative to ensure the right treatment is delivered to the right person at the right time. Achieving this requires appropriate clinical governance and support for health professionals, including professional supervision. This study investigates the usefulness and effectiveness of and barriers to supervision in rural and remote Queensland.DesignAs part of the evaluation of the Allied Health Rural and Remote Training and Support program, a qualitative descriptive study was conducted involving semi‐structured interviews with 42 rural or remote allied health professionals, nine operational managers and four supervisors. The interviews explored perspectives on their supervision arrangements, including the perceived usefulness, effect on practice and barriers.ResultsThemes of reduced isolation; enhanced professional enthusiasm, growth and commitment to the organisation; enhanced clinical skills, knowledge and confidence; and enhanced patient safety were identified as perceived outcomes of professional supervision. Time, technology and organisational factors were identified as potential facilitators as well as potential barriers to effective supervision.ConclusionsThis research provides current evidence on the impact of professional supervision in rural and remote Queensland. A multidimensional model of organisational factors associated with effective supervision in rural and remote settings is proposed identifying positive supervision culture and a good supervisor–supervisee fit as key factors associated with effective arrangements.

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“…Research on the determinants of individual factors associated with recruitment of rehabilitation professionals to rural areas has identified a strong association with having a rural background [18,19], exposure to rural practice during training [18], and financial incentives such as loan forgiveness [19]. Personal characteristics associated with recruitment and retention to rural areas include desire to serve community needs [19] and perceived satisfaction with opportunities for professional growth [10,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment and retention of occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rural regions: a meta-synthesis

Roots

2013

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundSignificant efforts have been made to address the shortage of health professionals in rural communities. In the face of increasing demand for rehabilitation services, strategies for recruiting and retaining occupational therapists (OTs) and physiotherapists (PTs) have yielded limited success. This study aims to broaden the understanding of factors associated with recruitment and retention of OTs and PTs in rural regions, through a synthesis of evidence from qualitative studies found in the literature.MethodsA systematic search of three databases was conducted for studies published between 1980 - 2009 specific to the recruitment and retention of OTs and PTs to rural areas. Studies deemed eligible were appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Form. Employing an iterative process, we conducted a thematic analysis of studies and developed second order interpretations to gain new insight into factors that influence rural recruitment and retention.ResultsOf the 615 articles retrieved, 12 qualitative studies met the eligibility criteria. Our synthesis revealed that therapists’ decision to locate, stay or leave rural communities was influenced to a greater degree by the availability of and access to practice supports, opportunities for professional growth and understanding the context of rural practice, than by location. The second-order analysis revealed the benefits of a strength-based inquiry in determining recruitment and retention factors. The themes that emerged were 1) support from the organization influences retention, 2) with support, challenges can become rewards and assets, and 3) an understanding of the challenges associated with rural practice prior to arrival influences retention.ConclusionsThis meta-synthesis illustrates how universally important practice supports are in the recruitment and retention of rehabilitation professionals in rural practice. While not unique to rural practice, the findings of this synthesis provide employers and health service planners with information necessary to make evidence-informed decisions regarding recruitment and retention to improve availability of health services for rural residents.

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Factors influencing occupational therapy students' perceptions of rural and remote practice

Cited by 30 publications

References 20 publications

Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

Oceans apart, yet connected: Findings from a qualitative study on professional supervision in rural and remote allied health services

Recruitment and retention of occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rural regions: a meta-synthesis

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