Hypothesis: improving literacy about health workforce will improve rural health workforce recruitment, retention and capability

Abstract Background One of the key barriers to health in rural areas is health workforce. Poor understanding and communication about health workforce across all stakeholder groups (including the broad community) is very common and can negatively affect the health workforce, recruitment, experiences and outcomes. Hypothesis In this paper, we propose the concept of literacy about health workforce. We propose this as a specific, actionable extension of the existing and well accepted health literacy concept. We hypothesise that improving literacy about health workforce will improve, in particular, rural health workforce recruitment, retention and capability. Implications of the hypothesis We propose that literacy about health workforce is important for all members of the health and broader system (e.g. local GP, mayor, workforce agency, health manager, Aboriginal health worker, carers, community health facilitators, patients, schools, local businesses, cultural and recreation groups) because we hypothesise their literacy about health workforce affects their capacity to make informed decisions and take action to manage their health workforce needs in direct synchrony with the community’s health needs. We hypothesise that improving literacy about health workforce will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of attracting, recruiting, training, and retaining a high quality, capable, health workforce, and further, will support the development and acceptance of innovative solutions to health workforce crises such as new models of care. This hypothesis is action orientated, is testable and includes the consideration of methods to engage and improve literacy of those within and external to the health workforce.

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Online multidisciplinary integrated rural healthcare education programs during the COVID-19 pandemic for students from different universities: experiences and guidelines

Health Education ◽

10.1108/he-06-2021-0096 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Frances Barraclough ◽

Sabrina Pit

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Rural Health ◽

Health Workforce ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Critical Mass ◽

Aged Care ◽

Residential Aged Care ◽

Teaching Program ◽

Content Type ◽

Rural Health Workforce

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to “forced innovation” in the health education industry. High-quality training of the future rural health workforce is crucial to ensure a pipeline of rural health practitioners to meet the needs of rural communities. This paper describes the implementation of an online multidisciplinary teaching program focusing on integrated care and the needs of rural communities.Design/methodology/approachA multidisciplinary teaching program was adapted to allow students from various disciplines and universities to learn together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contemporary issues such as the National Aged Care Advocacy Program for Residential Aged Care COVID-19 Project were explored during the program.FindingsThis case study describes how the program was adopted, how learning needs were met, practical examples (e.g. the Hand Hygiene Advocacy within a Rural School Setting Project), the challenges faced and solutions developed to address these challenges. Guidelines are proposed for remote multidisciplinary learning among health professional students, including those in medical, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and allied health disciplines.Originality/valueThe originality of this program centers around students from multiple universities and disciplines and various year levels learning together in a rural area over an extended period of time. Collaboration among universities assists educators in rural areas to achieve critical mass to teach students. In addition it provides experiences and guidance for the work integrated learning sector, rural health workforce practitioners, rural clinical schools, universities, policy makers, and educators who wish to expand rural online multidisciplinary learning.

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Perspectives on Rural Health Workforce Issues: Illinois-Arkansas Comparison

The Journal of Rural Health ◽

10.1111/j.1748-0361.2009.00209.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 135-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Martin MacDowell ◽

Michael Glasser ◽

Michael Fitts ◽

Mel Fratzke ◽

Karen Peters

Keyword(s):

Rural Health ◽

Health Workforce ◽

Workforce Issues ◽

Rural Health Workforce

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Training a Fit-For-Purpose Rural Health Workforce for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): How Do Drivers and Enablers of Rural Practice Intention Differ Between Learners From LMICs and High Income Countries?

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2020.582464 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Karen Johnston ◽

Monsie Guingona ◽

Salwa Elsanousi ◽

Jabu Mbokazi ◽

Charlie Labarda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Health ◽

Health Workforce ◽

High Income ◽

Rural Practice ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Fit For Purpose ◽

Rural Health Workforce ◽

Low And Middle Income

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Economic Advantages of Telehealth and Virtual Health Practitioners: Return on Investment Analysis

JMIR Perioperative Medicine ◽

10.2196/15688 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. e15688

Author(s):

Centaine L Snoswell ◽

John B North ◽

Liam J Caffery

Keyword(s):

Rural Health ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Return On Investment ◽

Models Of Care ◽

Rural Site ◽

Health Practitioner ◽

Care Providers ◽

Model Of Care ◽

Number Of Patients

Background Telehealth is a disruptive modality that challenges the traditional model of having a clinician or patient physically present for an appointment. The benefit is that it offers the opportunity to redesign the way services are offered. For instance, a virtual health practitioner can provide videoconference consultations while being located anywhere in the world that has internet. A virtual health practitioner also obviates the issues of attracting a specialist medical workforce to rural areas, and allows the rural health service to control the specialist services that they offer. Objective The aim of this research was to evaluate the economic effects of 3 different models of care on rural and metropolitan hospital sites. The models of care examined were patient travel, telehealth using videoconferencing, and employment of a virtual health practitioner by a rural site. Methods Using retrospective activity data for 3 years, a return on investment (ROI) analysis was undertaken from the perspective of a rural site and metropolitan partner site using a telehealth orthopedic fracture clinic as an example. Further analysis was conducted to calculate the number of patients that would be required to attend the clinic in each model of care for the sites to break even. Results The only service model that resulted in a positive ROI for the rural site over the 3-year period was the virtual health practitioner model. The breakeven analysis demonstrated that the rural site required the lowest number of patients to recoup costs in the virtual health practitioner model of care. The rural site was unable to recoup its costs within the travel model due to the lack of opportunity for reimbursement for services and the requirement to cover the cost of travel for patients. Conclusions Our model demonstrated that rural health care providers can increase their ROI by employing a virtual health practitioner.

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