Australian Journal of Rural Health最新文献

{"title":"Community Perspectives on Japanese Encephalitis Risk and Prevention in an Endemic Region of Australia.","authors":"Jennifer White, Peter Murray, Megan Vilder, Sharon Saxby, David N Durrheim","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70227","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70227","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne disease caused by JE virus (JEV) infection, detected for the first time in south-eastern Australia in 2022. In New South Wales (NSW), detections of JEV in mosquitoes and animal hosts, human JE cases, and climate and environmental considerations have informed which areas are considered high risk for JEV and which populations are eligible for vaccination (funded by Australian states and territories). However, early evidence indicates slower-than-expected uptake in these high-risk areas. We aimed to explore how community members and healthcare professionals (HCPs), including general practitioners (GPs), pharmacists, and nurses, perceive and have responded to JEV risk through vaccination and personal mosquito-bite prevention practices.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Tamworth is classified as high-risk for JEV by NSW Health.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>Semi-structured interviews with community participants (n = 15), GPs (n = 7), nurses (n = 3), and pharmacists (n = 3).</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>An interpretative qualitative study. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three themes were identified: (1) Risk awareness shaped by experience, not policy: \"I didn't realise Tamworth was identified as an area as well, I just was totally unaware,\" (2) Vaccine eligibility does not translate into uptake: \"There isn't really much promotion at the moment,\" and (3) Building community-level preparedness through communication: \"Messaging that the whole community knows about.\"</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite early public health efforts, awareness of JE and uptake of preventive measures remained limited in a high-risk regional setting. Supporting trusted healthcare providers with clear, consistent communication is critical to optimising JE vaccine uptake.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70227"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13288749/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148304070","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":"Paramedics: A Missing Workforce in Australia's Mental Health System.","authors":"Kate Emond, Jo Spong","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70211","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70211","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>This commentary proposes that paramedicine be repositioned within the national mental health workforce agenda to strengthen mental health service delivery, particularly in rural areas.</p><p><strong>Context: </strong>Australia is experiencing a growing mental health crisis that is converging with a mental health workforce shortage, particularly in rural areas. While traditionally aligned with physical health emergencies, the paramedic role has expanded, with mental health crises now comprising a significant component of frontline practice. Despite Australia's mental health workforce being multidisciplinary, the capabilities and contribution of paramedicine to the mental health workforce are not recognised within the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy 2022-2032. The evolving role of paramedics highlights the need to strengthen mental health education, training and practice within the profession, enabling paramedics to contribute their distinctive capabilities to mental health care and enhance the capacity of the broader workforce. Furthermore, paramedicine graduate numbers now exceed available ambulance roles, creating a clinically skilled workforce that could be utilised through alternative models of care, particularly in mental health.</p><p><strong>Approach: </strong>This commentary draws on current evidence to highlight the evolving role of paramedics in mental health care and opportunities to integrate mental health competencies into paramedic education and training.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Mental health competencies can be integrated into paramedic education to strengthen paramedics' capability to manage mental health presentations. Recognising paramedicine within the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy would enhance mental health system capacity, improve rural access to mental health care and provide meaningful employment pathways for new paramedicine graduates.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70211"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13172659/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147935745","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":"Prioritising Health Workforce Solutions for Rural and Regional Queensland: A Delphi Study.","authors":"Tracy Flenady, Tessa Benveniste, Drew Dawson, Matthew J W Thomas, Matthew McGrail","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70198","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70198","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Persistent health workforce shortages in regional, rural and remote Australia compromise access to equitable, high-quality care. Despite multiple initiatives, recruitment and retention challenges remain. Evidence-informed, context-specific solutions are needed to address local workforce needs.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To identify and prioritise locally responsive health workforce models in Central Queensland and assess their feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness from the perspective of local stakeholders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A modified Delphi method was used, comprising two rounds of online surveys with health practitioners and administrative staff. In Round One, participants rated 11 workforce models, developed from prior qualitative interviews and expert roundtable discussions, on feasibility and effectiveness using a five-point Likert scale. Open-text responses were collected to provide qualitative insights. Models meeting predefined consensus thresholds (≥ 70% feasibility or ≥ 60% effectiveness) progressed to Round Two, where participants, stratified by profession (nursing, medical, allied health, other), re-evaluated the shortlisted models. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative responses were analysed using deductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seven models met consensus thresholds in Round One: Placement, Career Broker, Transport Partner, Telehealth Blended, Advertisement/Pop Culture, Expatriate and FIFO. In Round Two, the Placement model was consistently rated highly across all professional groups, with strong support also for the Career Broker and Transport Partner models, particularly among allied health and nursing participants. Models requiring significant system reform, such as Expatriate and FIFO, received more variable ratings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Locally grounded, system-supported strategies, especially Placement, Career Broker and Transport Partner models, were favoured over approaches relying on external incentives or structural overhaul. Implementation of these models, supported by pilot testing and collaborative evaluation, offers a promising pathway to strengthening rural and regional workforce sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70198"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13123880/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147789968","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 'International Declaration on Rural Mental Health Research: 10 Guiding Principles and Standards'.","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70192","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70192","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70192"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147846650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research Partnerships in Rural and Remote Virtual Health Innovation Projects: A Scoping Review.","authors":"Vania Tjandra, Jason Yi, Emily Thompson, Jenna Benbaruj, Carolyn Canfield, Anurag Singh, Jane Jun, Femke Hoekstra","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70220","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70220","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Partnerships with research users (e.g., communities, clinicians) are effective in supporting virtual health innovation (VHI) projects to co-develop, implement and evaluate sustainable, relevant innovations that improve care access in rural communities. However, building trusting relationships with underrepresented groups is challenging and time-intensive.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To synthesise partnership processes (principles, strategies) and effects (outcomes/impacts) from rural VHI projects.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles on rural VHI partnership projects (2020-2024) identified through five databases. Partnership principles (norms/beliefs), strategies (observable actions) and outcomes/impacts (short- to long-term effects) were extracted and analysed using directed content analysis. Reporting followed the PRISMA-ScR checklist.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Of 7413 abstracts, 85 articles met inclusion criteria. VHI partnership projects were conducted in 15 countries, covering telehealth, digital education and health apps. Nearly half (45.9%) involved partnerships with Indigenous communities. We identified 149 principles and 80 strategies. Principles commonly related to relationship building (55.3%), shared decision-making (51.8%) and knowledge co-production (49.4%). From nine evaluation studies, 36 outcomes/impacts were extracted, of which 81% were positive.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>While a range of partnership processes and effects were identified, reporting was inconsistent, and few studies incorporated formal evaluations. Future research should adopt systematic approaches to report and evaluate their partnership engagement, thereby expanding the evidence base and facilitating shared learning for more effective and meaningful engagement with rural communities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This systematic overview of partnership processes and effects lays the groundwork for more effective, culturally safe engagement. Strengthening partnerships in these contexts can improve healthcare access and reduce rural health disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70220"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13244183/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148201049","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":"Rural Indigenous Experiences of Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review.","authors":"Tayla Cadigan, Lisa Kremer, Alesha Smith, Joanna Hikaka","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70202","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70202","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Indigenous peoples experience significant health inequities compared to non-Indigenous peoples. The reasons for this are multi-faceted. Access to healthcare for marginalised Indigenous peoples is made more difficult by living rurally; urban counterparts have improved healthcare access and health outcomes.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This review aimed to further understand the healthcare experiences of rural Indigenous peoples residing in New Zealand (Aotearoa), Australia, Canada or the United States of America (USA).</p><p><strong>Inclusion criteria: </strong>Participants were required to self-identify as Indigenous consumers of healthcare aged 18 years or older, with personal or family experiences of receiving healthcare. Contextually, rural healthcare service access in any healthcare setting was chosen. The countries chosen for inclusion were New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the USA. Exclusion criteria included studies with non-Indigenous participants with healthcare experiences that were unable to be isolated and extracted, as well as studies involving both rural and urban healthcare experiences where the urban experiences were unable to be isolated and removed.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The electronic databases Scopus (Elsevier), CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost) and Medline (OVID) were searched. Articles were screened by one author (TC) to identify primary research studies that reported patient lived experiences and included Indigenous participants who live rurally. Searches were completed in June 2024 and limited to full text, English language and date limited to 2004-2024. Articles were then analysed via thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Seven articles were analysed. The articles were located in Aotearoa, Australia, and Canada. No suitable studies from the USA were identified or included. Five themes were identified as having impacted the healthcare experiences of Indigenous peoples: distance to care; quality of care and racism; support from and impact on, whānau (family); health professional communication and knowledge sharing; and Indigenous solutions and holistic care.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Ensuring that patient-centred care also involves wider family members has been shown to be beneficial, as has the engagement of Indigenous health professionals and health workers in providing culturally inclusive healthcare. Health professionals should consider language and communication techniques when engaging with people seeking healthcare and not make assumptions, for example around health knowledge.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70202"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13135195/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147823526","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":"Digital Technology Use for Health and eHealth Literacy in a Very Remote Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory, Australia: A Community-Based Study.","authors":"Vishnu Khanal, Emily Saurman, Nicki Newton, Amy Von Huben, Kureisha Wilson, Josielli Comachio, Karina Coombes, Alexandar Puruntatameri, Sarah Norris, Meredith Makeham, Michelle Dickson, Sean Taylor, Paul Burgess, Tamsin Cockayne, David Reeve, David Edwards, Alison Lloyd, John Wakerman, Tim Shaw, Deborah Russell","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70210","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Digital technologies can significantly improve access to healthcare, education and social services. However, there is limited evidence on the extent of ownership and use of digital devices in remote Aboriginal communities. This study aimed to examine digital technology use, internet availability and use, intention to use technology for health and eHealth literacy in a very remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A face-to-face community-based structured survey was implemented by local Aboriginal community-based researchers in a very remote island community of the NT.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately 20% (n = 46) of the community participated in the study. Seventeen respondents did not own a digital device. While 17 reported having no internet access, two-thirds of those who had internet access (n = 29) were using prepaid mobile data. Twenty-three of the participants reported accessing health information online and eight reported having received a text message reminder about a health appointment. Only three individuals did not want to use a digital device for health. The mean score for eHealth literacy was 23.7; range 8-40. Overall, younger respondents (18-44 years) had higher eHealth literacy than those aged 45 and over.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The use of digital technologies was common; however, its application for healthcare was limited, despite community members' interest in using devices to access health information. Limited use, together with low eHealth literacy scores, and gaps in internet connectivity and mobile phone ownership suggest unmet needs for more accessible community digital infrastructure (e.g., community WiFi), and greater personal access to devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70210"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148019057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Recipe for Success: Co-Design and Operationalisation of a Regional Research Capacity Building Programme Using Cooke's Framework","authors":"Tracy Flenady,&nbsp;Danielle Le Lagadec,&nbsp;Amy-Louise Byrne,&nbsp;Pauline Calleja,&nbsp;Lisa Wirihana,&nbsp;Ashlyn Sahay,&nbsp;Julie Kahl,&nbsp;Trudy Dwyer","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70218","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70218","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Building research capacity among clinicians is essential for bridging the research–practice gap and improving patient outcomes. This is critical given growing evidence that clinician engagement in research is associated with improved patient outcomes, service delivery and health system performance. The Research Ready Grant Program (RRGP) is a co-designed initiative to support clinicians in regional settings to develop and implement research projects grounded in clinical practice. This paper reports the design, governance and operationalisation of the programme as informed by Cooks principles for successful research capacity building.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This paper presents a framework-guided account of the design and operationalisation of the Research Ready Grant Program (RRGP), examining how the programme has been iteratively developed across multiple cycles to respond to the needs of a regional health service. The paper foregrounds the programme's multidisciplinary structure and dual-university collaboration model, offering transferable design insights for institutions seeking to embed sustainable research capacity building in rural and regional healthcare settings.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results (Design Indicators)</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The design and implementation indicators demonstrate how these principles were translated into programme components (including education, paid mentorship, governance and dissemination supports) and iteratively refined across successive programme cycles using participant feedback and programme records. These findings describe programme operationalisation and evolution rather than outcomes or effectiveness.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The RRGP provides a framework-guided approach for designing and sustaining research capacity building in regional and rural health services. By making visible the programme's multidisciplinary structure and dual-university collaboration model, this paper offers practical design insights for institutions seeking to embed sustainable research capacity within rural and regional healthcare settings.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ajr.70218","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148058364","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":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148095094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148094894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}