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Rural Health Research

The university must develop a rural health research plan, to be delivered through its rural training sites by academic staff employed at those locations. The research plan must be agreed with the Department and contain a focus on the areas of research identified. The University must report on research progress and outcomes as part of subsequent program reporting.

The University must offer its rural program staff the opportunity to conduct research into rural health issues and support them as they do so. Where appropriate, students undertaking training at the university’s rural training sites should also benefit from access to rural research opportunities.

There is a mounting evidence base showing that health and medical students who undertake extended training in a rural area, and those from a rural background, are more likely to take up rural practice upon graduation. While the evidence primarily relates to the medical profession, these factors are likely to be influential in the rural retention of other health graduates.

Delivering quality rural health training requires a viable university presence across rural Australia. This involves academics and other university staff living and working locally, and student and staff engagement with local health professionals and the broader community.

Supporting high-quality rural health training is a way for the Australian Government to make a measurable impact on addressing the maldistribution of the rural health workforce. To achieve this, the Australian Government has invested in a network of Rural Clinical Schools and University Departments of Rural Health as well as supporting metropolitan dental schools to offer extended clinical placements in rural areas. The consolidation of these previously separate initiatives is designed to improve flexibility and reduce red tape while maintaining critical rural training and research activities across the diverse network of rural training sites across Australia.

Overall Program Goal

To improve the recruitment and retention of medical, nursing, dental, and allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia. This will ultimately improve the health and well-being of Australians living in rural and remote areas.

This goal will be achieved by:

Providing effective rural training experiences for health students.
Developing an evidence base for the efficacy of rural training strategies in delivering rural health workforce outcomes.
Supporting rural health professionals to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Increasing the number of rural-origin health and medical students.
Maximising the investment of program funds in rural, regional, and remote areas for the maintenance of well-supported academic networks to enhance the delivery of training to students and the provision of medical services to communities.

A flow-on benefit of the program will be an increase in the delivery of health services in rural areas through student clinical training activities. Additionally, clinical staff engaged through the program bring experience and local benefits to rural healthcare provision.

Maintaining and progressing an evidence base and the rural health agenda.

Support research into:

rural health workforce development (including recruitment and retention strategies);
rural training strategies;
innovative rural service delivery models to enable the provision of health services to meet community needs;
health issues directly impacting rural people, with a focus on benefiting communities within the university’s catchment area through the delivery of better health services; and
improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Universities should support rural research opportunities for their students in accordance with curriculum requirements.

Collect and maintain data on rural workforce outcomes resulting from rural training activity through the RHMT program.

Establish tracking systems for graduates, or utilise national data collections such as the Medical Schools Outcomes Database and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, with a regional focus aligned to each university’s operations within their rural communities.