Applying a participatory methodology to evaluate ecosystem services in the Pampa biome: lessons learned from the Tessa methodology in Uruguay

Identifying and measuring ecosystem services involving local stakeholders has been characterised as a novel approach in the literature. This article describes the methodology used in the participatory workshops, the lessons learned, and the specific results of applying the Tessa method. The methodology was piloted with 56 researchers and technicians, more than 22 institutions, and 54 livestock producers involved with the grassland conservation initiative, Alianza del Pastizal. Identified change agents with the most significant impact include the absence of a rural workforce, the lack of family succession, and weeding and overgrazing of grasslands. The primary ecosystem services identified included the production of fodder, meat/wool, wildlife forage, way of life/culture, and medicinal plants. The methodology presented here is replicable, capable of expansion to more groups, contributes to a better understanding, by the producers, of their problems and points to the need for the development of public incentive policies.

Impact of the Rural Physician Associate Program on Workforce Outcomes

Background and Objectives: The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) at the University of Minnesota Medical School (UMMS) is a 9-month rural longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) for third-year medical students built on a foundation of family medicine. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between participation in the RPAP program and the desired workforce outcomes of practice in Minnesota, primary care specialty (particularly family medicine), and rural practice. Methods: We analyzed workforce outcomes for UMMS graduates who completed postgraduate training between 1975 and 2017, comparing RPAP participants (n=1,217) to noparticipants (n=7,928). We identified graduates through internal UMMS databases linked to the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile and the National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry. We identified workforce outcomes of rural practice, practice in Minnesota, primary care specialty, and family medicine specialty based on practice specialty and practice location data available through the AMA and NPI data sets. Results: Proportionally, more RPAP graduates practice in state (65.7% vs 54.4%, P<.01), in primary care (69.0% vs 33.4%, P<.01), in family medicine (61.1% vs 17.3%, P<.01), and rurally (41.2% vs 13.9%, P<.01) than non-RPAP graduates. Conclusions: We demonstrate a significant association between participation in RPAP and a career in family medicine, rural practice, and primary care, all outcomes that promote meeting urgent rural workforce needs.

VOCATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION THROUGH RUSA

India has a population of over 1.35 billion and a workforce of 460 million. To be able to provide employment to such a large number of people is a challenge, which becomes even more daunting as the population grows by more than 1.6 % every year. Unemployment by the current daily status measure is 6.2% of the labour force (NSSO Round 2009-10), which amounts to 27.6 million. In terms of demographics, almost 35% of Indians are younger than 15 years of age, whilst 18% fall within the age group of 15-24. The median age of India is 24 years , making it one of the youngest populations in the world. 54% of India’s rural workforce is self-employed (mainly in agriculture, 39%, but a significant share in non-agriculture, 15%), many of whom remain very poor. In urban areas, the self-employed constitute 42.6% (NSSO 2007-08), among whom the incidence of poverty may be lower, but high enough to be a source of concern. Nearly 36% in rural areas are either agricultural or other labor, usually casual workers. There are a negligible number of regular employees in rural areas, and in urban areas only about 13% are regular employees, of which two-fifths are employed by the public sector. More than 90% of the labour force is employed in the unorganized sector, i.e. sectors which don’t offer social safety and other benefits of employment in the organized sector.

Whole of Community Facilitators: An Exemplar for Supporting Rural Health Workforce Recruitment through Students’ Professional Experience Placements

The Whole of Community Facilitator model provides support for healthcare students’ professional experience placements (PEP) in rural regions in Tasmania. In Tasmania, rural PEP is challenged as healthcare facilities are often small and have limited capacity for staff to devote considerable time to supervising students during PEP. Recruitment and retention of the rural health workforce in Tasmania is sometimes difficult because the island State is geographically distant from mainland Australia, and predominantly classified as a regional, rural, or remote area. The University of Tasmania, College of Health and Medicine (the College) explored various initiatives to support rural workforce sustainability, and the project discussed addresses this issue by promoting rural healthcare facilities as potential employment destinations for students upon completion of their course. The model supports the delivery of high-quality supervision to students whilst undertaking rural PEP, to foster positive experiences and potentially influence their future career choices. A successful exemplar was trialled in 2012 and implemented statewide in 2017 using a Whole of Community Facilitation (WOCF) model. The initiative supports host facilities, supervisors, host staff, and students and promotes positive placement experiences. The initiative was designed in consideration of Tasmania’s rurality, and uses a flexible and responsive framework.