Australian Journal of Rural Health最新文献

{"title":"Correction to ‘Experiences and impact of a rural Australian high-risk foot service: A multiple-methods study’","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70072","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tehan PE, Donnelly H, Martin E, Peterson B, Hawke F. Experiences and impact of a rural Australian high-risk foot service: A multiple-methods study. <i>Aust J Rural Health</i>. 2024; 32: 286–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.13087</p><p>The above article included an interview with an Aboriginal Health Worker, for which specific ethics approval was not sought. To rectify this omission, revisions have been made to the online article to exclude data from the Aboriginal Health Worker participant.</p><p>We apologise for this error.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70072","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144551259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Steps for Planning Health Program Evaluations: From Program Logic to Data Collection and Reporting Plans","authors":"Matt Thomas,&nbsp;Justine Summers,&nbsp;Sherryn Honeywood,&nbsp;Alyssa Fitzgerald,&nbsp;Donna Ambler,&nbsp;Kylie Falciani,&nbsp;Amanda Cook,&nbsp;Kelly Smith,&nbsp;Dean Bright,&nbsp;Michelle Lindsay,&nbsp;Catherine Sanford","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70068","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;There is a lack of evidence generated by health program evaluation in rural contexts [&lt;span&gt;1, 2&lt;/span&gt;]. Evaluation of health programs is important for determining outcomes and impact [&lt;span&gt;3&lt;/span&gt;], providing evidence for policy and funding decisions [&lt;span&gt;4&lt;/span&gt;], and to drive continuous improvement of health programs that address inequalities in rural health outcomes [&lt;span&gt;5, 6&lt;/span&gt;]. There are several challenges to healthcare evaluation in rural settings [&lt;span&gt;1, 2, 4-6&lt;/span&gt;]. These can include resource limitations such as shortages of healthcare professionals, facilities, infrastructure, and funding, as well as geographical barriers such as vast distances and transportation issues, which may impede stakeholder engagement and data collection processes. Program evaluation must be tailored to the unique cultural and social contexts of rural communities. For example, qualitative data from interviews, video and audio recordings, and written feedback can provide useful evidence of outcomes and experiences of receiving care but may not be deemed appropriate in some communities. The views and support of Elders and other community leaders can guide the design and implementation of culturally safe and welcoming program evaluation activity. While a detailed explanation of these issues and management strategies is beyond the scope of this article, suggestions for approaching some of these issues are noted, and more information about managing these issues can be found.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Given these challenges, rural clinicians and health program managers are often well placed to lead the evaluation of health programs. However, they may not be familiar with evaluation methods. This article provides an overview of a simple step-by-step process for planning health program evaluation and demonstrates a method for developing data collection and reporting plans from a program logic document.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Evaluation of health programs is recognised as essential for providing evidence that can ultimately address inequality of health outcomes in rural communities [&lt;span&gt;4-6&lt;/span&gt;]. However, this evidence is lacking for many rural health services [&lt;span&gt;1, 2&lt;/span&gt;]. Our paper shares a simple introduction to operationalising a data collection and reporting plan from program logic. This method has been successfully implemented across several rural-based health and wellbeing programs, including a multidisciplinary paediatric outreach clinic, peer navigator, diabetes mentoring, Sense rugby (a rugby skill program for children with disability), as well as a school-based reading program. It may be useful to leaders in rural health who are considering program evaluation. Future research will evaluate and further develop this method with a focus on rural health programs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Matt Thomas:&lt;/b&gt; conceptualization, writing – original draft, methodology. &lt;b&gt;Justine Summers:&lt;/b&gt; writing – review and editing. &lt;b&gt;Sherryn Honeywood:&lt;/b&gt; writing – review and editing, methodology. ","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70068","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144537057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Future of Rural Medical Education in Australia","authors":"James Padley","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70071","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aims</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This commentary considers the evolving landscape of medical education in rural Australia and highlights the need to renew and innovate in rural end-to-end programs.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Context</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Commonwealth government has funded new medical school places to be based in rural locations across the country supported by accredited medical programs. This new era offers a welcome change to the medical education landscape but also shines a light on traditional curricula and selection processes in medical schools.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Approach</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We highlight current trends and areas for innovation in key areas of medical curricula. We frame discussion around the key graduate outcomes outlined by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and ask how we need to adapt to meet these outcomes for students immersed in rural regions for the duration of their studies.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Rural end-to-end programs have the potential to positively shape the future of medical education and rural workforce for Australia by better aligning education systems to community needs, and matching programs to students with propensity to serve rural and remote communities. Curricula and placements will need to adapt to support future graduate outcomes. The success of rural end-to-end medical schools will also depend on support for local, rural and Indigenous student entry and continued support and advocacy for rural clinicians and educators.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70071","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144537056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to ‘Ramsden, R., Pappas, S.-J., Rostas, J., Islam, M.I., Martiniuk, A. and Guisard, Y. (2025), Rural Health Pro—A Digital Platform Connecting Rural People, Organisations, and Communities’","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70070","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ramsden, R., Pappas, S.-J., Rostas, J., Islam, M.I., Martiniuk, A. and Guisard, Y. (2025), Rural Health Pro—A Digital Platform Connecting Rural People, Organisations, and Communities. Aust J Rural Health, 33: e70050. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70050.</p><p>In the sixth paragraph of the ‘Introduction’ section of the above article, the sentence ‘In 2020, [name of organisation] launched Rural Health Pro, a digital platform to address increasing disparities in healthcare access in rural areas to help retain health professionals in rural Australia’ should be corrected to ‘In 2020, Rural Doctors Network launched Rural Health Pro, a digital platform to address increasing disparities in healthcare access in rural areas to help retain health professionals in rural Australia’.</p><p>In the ‘2.9 Ethical Considerations’ section of the above article, the paragraph should be corrected to ‘Ethical approval for this study “Evaluating Rural Health Pro—A web platform to support rural health professionals,” was obtained from Deakin University Faculty of Health HEAG-H 195_2020’.</p><p>We apologise for the errors.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144367418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Walk for Mental Well-Being as a Third Place: A Qualitative Study of the Bathurst Men's Walk and Talk","authors":"Peter Simmons,&nbsp;Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu,&nbsp;Hazel Dalton,&nbsp;Julaine Allan,&nbsp;John Eme,&nbsp;Tracy Macfarlane,&nbsp;Haider Mannan","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70066","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To explore processes that engage rural men in a weekly, enduring, community-volunteer-organised walk for mental well-being, and compare with characteristics of <i>Third Places</i> (relaxing social places that are neither home nor work).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Setting</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Bathurst, regional city population 44 939 (2024), New South Wales, Australia.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Participants</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Bathurst Men's Walk and Talk (BMWT) walkers tend to be older and in a married/defacto relationship. More than one-third score low on mental well-being indices.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Design</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In-depth semi-structured interviews (<i>n</i> = 20) with walkers (13) and leaders (7) of the BMWT were thematically analysed, inductively and deductively.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Main Outcome Measures</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Interviewee descriptions of experiences of BMWT and its impacts reported against Oldenburg's (1989/1999) eight characteristics of <i>Third place</i>, and use of rituals.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>BMWT is more routinised but has essential characteristics of an ideal <i>Third place</i>. BMWT accentuates the essence of <i>Third place</i> including welcome, inclusion, conversation and belonging to the group. BMWT balances culture and structures that meet diverse needs for connection and enjoyment in the manner of a <i>Third place</i>, while communicating safety and reassurance required for men who seek or need support for mental well-being. Interviewees reported mood and well-being benefits from BMWT physical activity, social interaction and belonging.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Thoughtful planning can increase health-giving social interaction and feelings of belonging consistent with <i>Third place</i> experiences. In rural areas where men often miss out on mental well-being support, <i>Third place</i> provides a framework to guide individual group and community planning.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70066","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144339572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Story Behind the Data: Addressing Broader Social Determinants in Harm Reduction Policy for Rural Alcohol, Vaping, Smoking and Other Drug Use","authors":"Carmen Ellis","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70064","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The complexity of problematic alcohol, smoking, vaping and other drug use is compounded in rural, regional and remote Australia (hereafter rural), which makes up more than 30% of the population or 7.3 million people. Substance misuse in rural Australian communities intersects with historic social and economic disadvantage characterised by the tyranny of distance and the implementation of metrocentric policies and inflexible funding that do not translate into positive outcomes for rural communities. With a limited healthcare workforce and inadequate investment in supportive infrastructure, the flow-on effects to community wellbeing are prominent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The National Rural Health Alliance has recently published a fact sheet on Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping and Other Drugs as an outcome of research collated for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Health Impacts of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Australia. The data presented in the fact sheet and the submission support the broader implications that the social determinants of health and the historic disadvantages faced by rural Australians are intrinsically linked to outcomes of alcohol, smoking, vaping and other drug use.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Current data continues to highlight the need for rural Australia to be considered a priority area for investment for alcohol, smoking and other drug use. Rural Australians face higher rates of alcohol related harm, with residents aged over 14 living in &lt;i&gt;Remote&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Very Remote&lt;/i&gt; areas being approximately 1.4 times more likely to consume alcohol at risky levels compared to their urban counterparts [&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;]. People living in &lt;i&gt;Very Remote&lt;/i&gt; areas had the highest rates of alcohol-related injury hospitalisations in the country, over 8 times the national rate and almost 11 times the rate for people living in &lt;i&gt;Major Cities&lt;/i&gt; [&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;].&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tobacco smoking rates in rural Australia are also higher than those living in &lt;i&gt;Major Cities&lt;/i&gt;. While tobacco use in rural areas remains high, the use of e-cigarettes is lower. Given the emerging public health concerns surrounding e-cigarette usage, research as to why these rates are lower must be considered to maintain lower uptake in rural communities. Rates of illicit drug use in remote areas remained the highest in recent data collection compared to other geographic areas [&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;].&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These higher rates in rural Australia do not happen in isolation, nor out of coincidence. Rather, the direct cause of these elevated poor health outcomes is intrinsically linked to the social determinants of health, a historical lack of investment in rural health and a limited health workforce. For example, rural Australians are 24 times more likely to be hospitalised due to domestic violence than people in &lt;i&gt;Major Cities&lt;/i&gt; [&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;]. Co-occurring alcohol misuse can be correlated with elevated risks of family and domestic violence, with approximately one-third of all violent incidents experienced (as victim or perpe","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70064","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144367472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bridging the Urban and Regional Divide in Stroke Care (BUILDS): A Novel Telestroke Unit Service","authors":"Lauren Arthurson,&nbsp;Suzanne Harrison,&nbsp;Benjamin Clissold,&nbsp;Christopher Bladin,&nbsp;Glenn Howlett,&nbsp;Felix Ng,&nbsp;Philip M. C. Choi","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70067","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Problem</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>People living in rural areas of Australia have an increased risk of stroke. Reperfusion decision support is increasingly available in these areas however, access to acute stroke unit care is limited.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Setting</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>An acute telestroke unit pilot was implemented in a regional health service in Victoria.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Key Measures for Improvement</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Change in diagnosis post specialist evaluation, patient and staff satisfaction, length of stay, percentage of patients discharged with anti-platelets and care plan provision.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Strategies for Change</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Partnership between metro-based stroke specialists and an onsite stroke coordinator based in a regional site. Early engagement of key decision makers (i.e., hospital executive).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Effects of Changes</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This model increased diagnostic accuracy and decreased resource use including diagnostic tests, patient transfers and staff deployment. Patients, families and staff reported high levels of satisfaction. The pilot transitioned to a sustainable health service funded model, embedded into ‘usual’ care. The BUILDS pilot enabled stroke unit certification of the regional health service.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Lessons Learnt</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Telestroke unit model, enabled by an adequately resourced local stroke coordinator, could be the key to ensure all regional Australians have access to stroke unit care.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70067","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144308866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fair Funding for Rural Health, an Urgent Call","authors":"Susanne Tegen","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70058","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The Albanese Government now has the opportunity to swiftly advance the numerous reviews and recommendations to ensure health equity for all Australians. The reviews developed in collaboration with stakeholders, including the National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance) during their first term, recommended innovative solutions, which will go a considerable way in supporting rural, remote and regional communities, as well as urban centres. The government must now ensure that it implements grassroots recommendations, as it is there that flexible implementation and funding are needed the most. The Alliance is standing by to work hand in hand with the government to ensure that no one continues to be left behind.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Alliance has worked closely with the first-term government on the &lt;i&gt;Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce: Scope of Practice Review&lt;/i&gt;, the &lt;i&gt;Strengthening Medicare Measures&lt;/i&gt;, the &lt;i&gt;National Medical Workforce Strategy&lt;/i&gt;, and the &lt;i&gt;Australian Digital Health Workforce Strategy&lt;/i&gt;. With solutions at hand, the newly elected government is now tasked with taking this a step further by putting words into practice and funding in place. Rural, regional, and remote communities rely heavily on the government's policy, funding, and flexibility to achieve health equity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Alliance, through its work with its members, communities and other stakeholders, considers every day how we can ensure that workable solutions are provided to the government. We need to ensure that expenditure in healthcare delivery, research, workforce training and education, as well as infrastructure and systems that underpin the health and wellbeing of rural Australians, is equitable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The fact that rural populations are sicker than urban individuals is not new. Rather, it is getting worse with remote men dying up to 13.6 years and rural women 12.7 years earlier than in urban Australia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It remains disappointing and unacceptable for a Western country to treat 30% of the population that provides for Australia's economic wellbeing as a burden, rather than a population that is valued, important and treated equitably. The first-term government's reforms promise to break down these barriers and inequities, and the Alliance eagerly awaits to see positive results.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The solutions are also in the context of the annual $6.55 billion health underspend in rural Australia compared to city expenditure. It is also important to factor in Australia's reliance on rural Australia for its economic contribution and vibrant and positive lifestyle status, despite the high cost of living and climate challenges such as drought, flooding and other extreme weather events.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Alliance has been working with the Department of Health and Aged Care to provide positive solutions, rather than tweak policies around the edges. Medicare, while very much valued, is but one tool. Equitable access requires more than Medicare. The investment of $8.5 billion to ","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70058","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144256277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Western Australia's First and Regional General Practitioner Psychiatry Phone Line to Improve Primary Mental Health Care: Indicators of Effectiveness and Sustainability: A Non-Controlled Population-Based Interventional Study","authors":"Hanh Ngo,&nbsp;Michael Taran,&nbsp;Beatriz Cuesta-Briand,&nbsp;Kelly Ridley,&nbsp;Mathew Coleman","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70062","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective(s)</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To assess the impact of a regional General Practitioner Psychiatry Phone Line (GPPPL), embedded in a public Community Mental Health service (CMHS) on the wider health service's workflow and systemic outcomes.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Design</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Non-controlled population-based interventional study.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Setting</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Public CMHS in the Great Southern region of Western Australia (WA).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Participants</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Aggregated monthly data on (i) referrals to the CMHS (July 2017–March 2022), and (ii) Emergency Department presentations (July 2017–May 2022) were obtained from the West Australian Country Health Service.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Intervention</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Introduction of a regional GPPPL, for local publicly employed psychiatrists to provide specialist mental health care advice to General Practitioners working in the same region.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Main Outcome Measures</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Service input: Number of calls to the GPPPL, call duration and frequency.</p>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Service output: Rate of referrals to the CMHS, and rate of Emergency Department presentations related to mental health issues, and alcohol and other drugs.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The number of weekly calls to the GPPPL decreased (slope −0.13, 95% CI −0.17, −0.08; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.0001) over the course of the one-year pilot. The referral rate to CMHS was approximately 70.5 referrals per 1000 person-years in July 2017, and quite steady pre-GPPPL (<i>p</i> = 0.9283), then reduced significantly post-GPPPL, by 1.7 (95% CI 0.14, 3.26; <i>p</i> = 0.0372) referrals per 1000 person-years each month.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study has demonstrated the GPPPL's effectiveness in reducing the referral rates to CMHS and its self-sustainability. The psychiatrists involved were able to continue full-time public service roles while running the phoneline, with a decreasing time demand over the one-year pilot.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144244627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Experience of Rural Undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing Students Engaging With a Nurse Tutor: A Descriptive Study","authors":"Elise Ryan,&nbsp;Rebecca Broadbent,&nbsp;Maree Bernoth","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.70065","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The objective of this study was to understand the experience of rural undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students engaging with a nurse tutor, enabled through a Regional University Study Hub.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Participants</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Ten rural undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students who engaged with a community-based academic nurse tutor programme.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Design</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A descriptive design and data collection through an online questionnaire and telephone interviews using semi-structured questions.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Engaging a support structure that is external to the university for rural, undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students provided a safe environment for the students to explore technical academic concepts and gain clarity with topics and assessment tasks. The participants felt reticent to share their uncertainties with lecturers. This was particularly significant for mature-aged and first-in-family students.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The collaborative partnership between a university, community, Regional University Study Hub, and industry is a model for future initiatives aimed at ensuring the success of rural students in completing tertiary education and building the rural health workforce.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70065","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144245064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}