Australian Journal of Rural Health最新文献

{"title":"Jack Best: Father of the Rural Clinical Schools-And Erudite Blogger.","authors":"Gordon Gregory","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70180","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70180","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 3","pages":"e70180"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147846702","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":"Factors Related to Diabetes Educator Training and Credentialling to Meet the Needs of Rural and Remote Australians.","authors":"Arjun Chhabra, Andrew D K Nguyen, Meredith Hancock, Sandra C Thompson","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70187","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>With the burden of diabetes rising in Australia, it is important to understand the challenges for rurally based health practitioners to achieve credentialling as a diabetes educator.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>This is particularly relevant in rural and remote Australia with the shortage of credentialled diabetes educators and the great burden of disease.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>Participants were credentialled diabetes educators (25), health practitioners in the process of credentialling (5), health practitioners who did not complete credentialling (7), and diabetes education academics teaching the qualification required before credentialling (9).</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Using qualitative research methods, relevant practitioners involved in credentialling were interviewed. The interviews explored hurdles for rural-based diabetes educators in achieving credentialling given the required clinical hours and the absence of available local mentors. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis followed established methods to ensure research rigour.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants described challenges, highlighting an inequitable credentialling process for rural health practitioners. Issues included the inadequacy of material explaining the credentialling process at the time of enrolment, challenges finding mentorship support and gaining sufficient clinical experience for credentialling in a rural context, issues with recording credentialling activities, challenges with distance, and finding available jobs due to the ambiguous scope of practice of credentialled diabetes educators, particularly for allied health professionals.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings inform potential improvements for diabetes educator credentialling and offer insights into how processes could be improved to support development of a strengthened rural and remote-based diabetes educator workforce.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70187"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13069227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147655438","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":"Healing Steps on Country-Exploring Care Pathways for Aboriginal People in the Kimberley With Diabetes-Related Foot Disease.","authors":"Sophie Moustaka, Ala Mckay, Ellen Stapleton, Jodie Millroy, Courtney Fairfull, Chantelle Carr, Sarah Tomlinson, Emma Griffiths","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70184","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70184","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This project aimed to document the experiences of Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley region who have experienced diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) so that service delivery can be optimised.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>The Kimberley region, Western Australia.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>Aboriginal People in the Kimberley with DFD.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A mixed methods study design was used, incorporating quantitative analysis of primary and outpatient care presentations and hospitalisation data collected from in-depth medical record reviews (n = 35) and semi-structured interviews with participants (n = 28).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study highlighted that DFD in the Kimberley has a significant impact on individuals and communities. While primary and outpatient services play a key role in DFD care, there is an opportunity to strengthen preventive foot care services. Participants valued flexibility and autonomy in managing their care, especially with the support of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS). Recommendations to improve DFD care are provided, incorporating the perspectives of patients and of the health professionals who participated in the data interpretation workshop. These include facilitating patient self-care, expanding high-quality foot care within ACCHS, strengthening support for hospitalised patients, and advocating for upstream service improvements.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Addressing geographical and systemic barriers through improved patient education, better access to primary care resources, and increased patient choice may enhance autonomy and long-term DFD outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70184"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13047299/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147610717","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":"A Nurse-Led Multi-Disciplinary Model Enhancing Skin Cancer Early Detection in Regional/Rural Australia: Project Check Mate.","authors":"Marion Eckert, Pamela Adelson, Lachlan Darch, Greg Sharplin","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70179","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Skin cancer rates are rising and disproportionately higher in under-serviced regional and rural Australia compared to metropolitan areas. It is estimated that regional and rural areas will account for 47% of total incidence melanomas. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a multi-disciplinary, nurse-led early detection model for skin cancer in regional and rural areas, called Project Check Mate. Three nurse-led pop-up skin cancer clinics were held at large rural community events in South Australia. Regional and rural nurses from local General Practitioner (GP) practices were trained in skin checks and worked in tandem with experienced nurse dermoscopists.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Pragmatic evaluation using quantitative and qualitative methods.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>The study examined: training completion of nurses and demonstrated skills application; the number and risk profile of consumers receiving a skin check; use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the acceptability of the model to nurses, GPs and consumers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirteen of fourteen nurses completed the training and gained supervised clinical experience, reporting increased confidence in dermoscopy and image capture. Across the three sites, 509 total body skin checks were performed in 2023. Consumers had a median age of 58 years (men) and 54 years (women), with one-quarter identified as above-average risk for melanoma. Nurse-led skin checks were positively received; 99% of consumers indicated they would use the service again, and GPs expressed support for the model. AI was valued as an adjunctive learning tool but not used for clinical decision making.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrates that nurse-led skin checks, delivered in collaboration with GPs and communities, are acceptable to stakeholders and can improve access to skin cancer assessment in regional and rural settings. Training local nurses builds sustainable workforce capacity and offers a promising pathway for risk-tailored skin cancer assessments in under-served areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70179"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147678667","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":"Partnerships in Learning: The Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Programme in Aged Care Services Pilot Site Evaluation.","authors":"Myles Clarkson Fletcher, Kathryn Fitzgerald, Mohammad Hamiduzzaman, Gordon Mander, Pascale Dettwiller, Lisa Dalton","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70182","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70182","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To explore the perspectives of University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) clinical educators and partner aged care provider managers involved in the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Aged Care pilot programmes, and to identify the barriers, enablers and context-specific strategies that supported the establishment of nursing and allied health student placements in rural and remote aged care settings.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Five pilot sites were established through RHMT Aged Care Service Grants in partnership with aged care providers across New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>Twelve participants, including nine UDRH clinical educators (CEs) and three partner aged care service managers, supported student placements at four of the five pilot sites.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Qualitative exploratory study using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three interdependent themes were identified: (1) engaged partnership; (2) creating a learning environment that benefits everyone; and (3) adapting to the local context. Participants valued strong relational partnerships, role clarity and the CE role. While perceived benefits to students, services and staff ensured buy-in to the value of creating a learning environment through placements. Feasibility required local adaptation to challenges, such as service capacity and workforce pressures.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Rural aged care placements are feasible and valuable when supported by strong academic-provider partnerships, perceived benefits for everyone through establishing learning environments, and context-sensitive implementation. These findings offer practical guidance for implementing aged care placements in rural settings, while highlighting the need for further research into student, staff, and resident outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70182"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13049462/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147617141","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":"Quantifying and Understanding Healthcare Service Access for Geographically Distributed Communities: The Application of Address-Level Intelligence.","authors":"Vincent L Versace, Neil T Coffee, Anna Wong Shee, Marcus Blake, Sam Quinsey, Sarah Wood, Robert Tanton, Ralf-Dieter Schroers, Kevin Mc Namara, Matthew Hadfield","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70185","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70185","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>The population of Australia is unevenly distributed across a vast area. Australians living in rural areas face the ongoing challenge of accessing healthcare services when and where they need them. The application of address-level intelligence is presented as a viable addition to existing methods that will enhance resource allocation and service planning.</p><p><strong>Context: </strong>Current methods for understanding where healthcare need is greatest and guide investment are constrained by the application of existing spatial administrative units. Administrative units tend to be larger in rural settings, masking locally important areas of heterogeneity-i.e., only the 'average' condition within a boundary is reported and therefore considered.</p><p><strong>Approach: </strong>The widespread adoption of address-level intelligence describing the services available to a community based upon the time it takes to travel to services is offered as a scalable alternative to predefined spatial administrative units. Applied examples of this change are already in practice. These include a system-level adoption at a large rural health service that spans approximately 300 km and services 250 000 residents, through to national analyses that have contributed to key policy areas in both health and education.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Improvements in computational power and reduced processing time, coupled with increasingly granular datasets, have seen the adoption of address-level intelligence gathering momentum. A shift to (1) access measures that account for the service availability in communities rather than relying only on population size and (2) a focus on time to services rather than solely relying on distance are recommended.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70185"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13078665/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147693787","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 Transformation of Rural, Regional, and Remote Australian Hospitals: A Pragmatic Strategy for Introducing AI.","authors":"Olivia Metcalf, Joel Fossouo Tagne, Debbie Passey, Wendy Chapman, Portia Y Cornell, Catherine E Huggins, Peter Steel, Anna Wong Shee, Michael Field, Rahul Khanna, Lawrence Gray, Grant Blashki, Kit Huckvale","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70178","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70178","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Rural, regional, and remote hospitals in Australia face barriers to digital transformation, including limited infrastructure, digital literacy, and workforce capacity. This Commentary outlines a pragmatic strategy to build rural digital readiness through the safe implementation of ambient artificial intelligence (AI) scribes as a low-risk starting point for AI adoption.</p><p><strong>Context: </strong>AI scribes use generative AI to convert clinical conversations into documentation. They offer potential to reduce administrative burden and workforce strain while preparing rural health services for future AI use. Although the Victorian Department of Health has established minimum standards for AI scribe use, rural hospitals face unique challenges including lower AI literacy, workforce pressure, and limited research infrastructure. Insights from ongoing implementation research highlight the value of simulation methods to examine usability, workflow effects, and ethical considerations before deployment.</p><p><strong>Approach: </strong>Three key enablers support responsible implementation: (1) clinical simulation for research, (2) harmonisation of evaluation metrics, and (3) shared infrastructure for consent, training, and monitoring.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Implementing AI scribes provides a practical pathway for rural hospitals to strengthen capability, reduce administrative burden, and build readiness for more advanced clinical AI, supporting safe and equitable adoption across rural Australia.</p>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":"e70178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13058397/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147635220","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":"Quantifying Staff Preferences for Workforce Retention Strategies in Remote Australian Primary Health Care Services","authors":"Nanda Kaji Budhathoki,&nbsp;John S. Humphreys,&nbsp;Supriya Mathew,&nbsp;Leander Menezes,&nbsp;Mark Ramjan,&nbsp;Donna-Maree Stephens,&nbsp;Karrina DeMasi,&nbsp;Yuejen Zhao,&nbsp;Kristal Lawrence,&nbsp;Deborah Russell","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70170","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70170","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Aim&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;To outline key criteria when choosing how to measure remote area primary health care workers' retention preferences and compare six different methodological approaches against these criteria.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Context&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Australians living in remote communities experience poorer health outcomes. Many health services serving remote populations have persistent workforce shortages, high staff turnover and short retention which adversely affect access to timely, appropriate health care, care continuity and cultural appropriateness of care. Improved understanding of staff preferences for different retention initiatives could inform initiatives to improve workforce stability.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Approach&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Measuring the preferences of remote primary health care staff is complex. Key criteria to guide methodology choice include: i) logistical considerations related to geographical remoteness, ii) diversity of primary care staff, iii) minimising participants' cognitive load and time required for data collection, iv) ability to quantify preferences, v) appropriateness of methodologies for staff from different socio-cultural backgrounds, vi) minimising bias, and vii) making trade-offs given limited resources for implementing retention incentives. Six different methodological approaches are compared: Rating, Ranking, Best Worst Scaling (BWS) Object Case, BWS Profile Case, BWS Multi-profile Case and conventional Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE).&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The comparison of different methodologies reveals the advantages of using a BWS Object Case methodological approach for measuring primary health care service workers' preferences in remote primary health care settings. Importantly, this paper demonstrates how the quantified results from BWS object case analysis can be translated into actionable retention initiatives designed to retain remote area health workers, given ongoing budget constraints and the need to ensure cultural appropriateness.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;div&gt;What is already known on this subject?\u0000\u0000 &lt;ul&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;li&gt;Remote Australian health services have been persistently impacted by high turnover of health care staff.&lt;/li&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;li&gt;Stated preference survey methods have only been occasionally applied in health research in high income countries to understand health care workers' prefer","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13031882/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147534730","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":"Time Spent in Rural Placements and Working Rurally After Graduation: A Retrospective Cohort Study of University of Adelaide Medical Graduates, 2010–2021","authors":"Susan Williams,&nbsp;David Gonzalez-Chica,&nbsp;Katrina Morgan,&nbsp;Lisa White,&nbsp;Lucie Walters","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70174","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70174","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>First, to examine how short rural placements and increasing placement time are related to rural workforce outcomes. Second, to estimate the reliability of Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) data to measure rural workforce outcomes by comparing AHPRA and self-reported rural practice locations.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Design</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Primary objective—retrospective cohort study. Secondary objective—validation questionnaire.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Participants/Setting</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>University of Adelaide medical alumni graduating from 2010 to 2021.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Main Outcome Measures</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The primary outcome of interest was the proportion of alumni practising in rural locations (Modified Monash Model, MMM2-7). Logistic regression was used to examine associations between time in Adelaide Rural Clinical School rural placements and working rurally after graduation, adjusted for rural background and sociodemographic factors. The secondary outcome measure was agreement between self-reported and AHPRA rural practice locations for a sample of alumni.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Practice locations were identified for 1664 alumni (97%). When compared to no rural placements, completing a short placement of 4–8 weeks had no effect, but a full-year rural placement was associated with a 2-fold increase in the odds of working rurally (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.05–3.72). This effect increased to over five times when combined with two additional short rural placements (OR 5.57, 95% CI 2.32–13.37). AHPRA provided a reliable indicator of rural practice location when compared to self-reported (94.3% agreement, κ = 0.85, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Short rural placements are unlikely to have a positive impact on the rural workforce unless combined with an extended placement. The high reliability of AHPRA data to measure primary rural practice location was confirmed.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13014118/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147516946","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":"Community Pharmacy Density Across Remote, Rural, Regional and Metropolitan Areas of Australia: An Ecological Study","authors":"Michael James Leach,&nbsp;Emily Griffin","doi":"10.1111/ajr.70169","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ajr.70169","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To investigate community pharmacy density (CPD) at national and subnational (i.e., below-national) levels in Australia, and examine area-level factors associated with CPD.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Aggregate, 2024 data on Australia's community pharmacies (CPs) and Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) populations were sourced. CPD (number of CPs/10 000 population) was calculated nationally and sub-nationally. SA3 characteristics associated with CPD quintiles were examined via partial proportional odds regression. Statistical significance was set at <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>There were 6 032 CPs across 336 SA3s. CPD was 2.22, 2.09, and 2.63 CPs/10 000 population for Australia overall, metropolitan Australia, and remote/rural/regional Australia, respectively. SA3-level data revealed CPD tended to be lower for outer- than inner-city metropolitan areas. Clusters of SA3s with lowest-quintile CPD (i.e., ‘pharmacy deserts’) were observed. Four large, remote SA3s in the Northern Territory (NT) (e.g., Daly-Tiwi-West Arnhem) had lowest-quintile CPD, as did many outer-city (e.g., Manningham East, Victoria) or other remote/rural/regional (e.g., Baw Baw, Victoria) SA3s. SA3 characteristics associated with a one-quintile increase in CPD included remote/rural/regional (relative to metropolitan) areas (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.24–9.81) and percentage of male residents (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.16–1.63). Additionally, CPD tended to significantly increase with increasing percentages of residents aged 85+ or 65–84 years, and to significantly decrease with increasing SA3 area (km²).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Correlates of CPD, and particular SA3s with lowest-quintile CPD, could inform legislation, policies, and decisions related to CP premises and workforce Australia-wide (e.g., Australia's Pharmacy Location Rules and state/territory-level CP ownership legislation). Future studies of CPD across Australia should assess the correlation between CPD and general practice density, and incorporate additional subnational area characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status) and CP accommodations (e.g., opening hours).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55421,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Rural Health","volume":"34 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13014210/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147516922","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}