Rural and remote
11th National Rural Health Conference - Keynote Presentations
Video of keynote speakers from the 2011 National Rural Health Conference
A case study of policy change in ATSI health research
Health research policy: a case study of policy change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research
There is considerate potential for health research to contribute to better health services and programs and improved health outcomes; the policies of health research funding agencies are critical to achieving health gains from research. The need for research to better address health disparities in Indigenous people has been widely recognised. This paper (i) describes the policy changes by NHMRC from 1997 to 2002 to improve funding of Aboriginal health research (ii) examines the catalysts for the policy changes (iii) describes the extent to which this has resulted in new models of research and (iv) outlines issues for Indigenous health policy in the future.
A snapshot of men's health in regional and remote Australia.
Produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. In late 2008 the Australian government announced its intention to develop the first National Men's Health Policy, which will have focus on a number of small groups including men in rural areas. Drawing on several data sources, this report provides a snapshot of the health of men in rural Australia.
Alice Springs Hospital: Consumer Feedback Questionnaire and Guide for Interviewers
Consists of a Consumer Feedback Questionnaire and Guide for Interviewers for the Alice Springs Hospital. This is a companion document to the report 'Alice Springs Hospital: Implementing consumer feedback into a continuous quality improvement framework', also available from the this website.
Border Cancer Care Coordination Project
The Border Cancer Care Coordination Project is an action-based research project that has been piloting a model of coordinated cancer care in a regional and rural environment. The federal Department of Health and Ageing funded the project with support from the New South Wales Cancer Institute and the Victorian Department of Human Services. The project has been conducted in the Albury-Wodonga region and focused on cancer care coordination, multidisciplinary case conferencing in a regional/rural environment, information dissemination through a cancer website, and gathered data on cancer patient needs. It also looked at cross-border issues (service provision in a two-state environment) as well as the interface between public and private service provision and how this can work to effectively meet cancer patient needs.
Building capacity towards health leadership in remote Indigenous communities in Cape York
This paper describes an established approach for building capacity used for the first time with Health Action Teams (HATs) in three remote indigenous communities in Cape York.
Community Participation: A Bottom Up Approach
This article describes how the Mallee Division of General Practice developed a consumer participation strategy, which started with just nine focus groups and led to a network of ongoing groups working, and succeeding at improving health and health services over several years.
Community participation in rural primary health care: intervention or approach
Published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health.
Consumers "the trump card" in creating a new model of care
Presented by Rosie Rowe at the Consumers Refroming Health Conference 2011.
Cost of Chronic Illness in Rural and Regional Victoria
Having a good income does not protect people with chronic illness from poverty. In fact, going to work and earning an income can severely disadvantage people who have high medication needs by disqualifying them from the financial benefits of a Health Care card. Expecting that distance, isolation and lack of rural medical infrastructure would impact on affordability and accessibility of health services, the Chronic Illness Alliance collected data from rural and regional Victorians on the cost of chronic illness. This article describes how the study was undertaken in regional Victoria, what consumers identified as key issues, and the findings of the project to date.
Enhancing Consumer and Carer Participation in Victoria’s Integrated Cancer Services
The Victorian Department of Human Services launched A Cancer Services Framework for Victoria in November 2003. This Framework outlines an integrated model for metropolitan and regional cancer services, and aims to reduce unacceptable variations in care across Victoria. As part of the work to implement the Cancer Services Framework, the Ministerial Taskforce for Cancer commissioned Health Issues Centre to develop a strategy for effective participation of consumers, carers and community members in the cancer service reforms. This article provides a summary of the process to develop the strategy and key lessons learnt through consultations with consumers, carers and service providers.
Exposed: a literature review of the issues of women's cancers in Ausralian Aboriginal communities.
Produced by Women’s Health Goulburn North East. This report explores how Aboriginal women experience cancer, with a lens on the rural Hume region of Victoria.
Healers, Clinics and Aboriginal People: Whose Health and Who Benefits?
Achieving better health outcomes for Aboriginal people remains a high priority for health providers. However, what can be overlooked in the delivery of health care is a very particular understanding of ‘health’ that Aboriginal people bring with them when they attend the local clinic or hospital. Within many central Australian communities there exist healers, maparn (also known as ngangkari) who attend to people’s sickness. In this article, the author describes the work of these healers, and raises questions about the health implications for Aboriginal people when their healers remain isolated from western medical health understandings and practice.
Health Consumers of Rural and Remote Australia
Health Consumers of Rural and Remote Australia is an incorporated organisation working to improve health outcomes for people living in the bush.
Indigenous Women's Health Strategy
The strategy, developed by the Australian Women’s Health Network (AWHN) Aboriginal Women’s Talking Circle, seeks to address the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women’s health.
The AWHN used the Aboriginal Women’s Talking Circle to consult with more than 400 Indigenous women across Australia on health issues, gaps, and barriers to services for the strategy.The strategy’s recommendations include:implementing cultural safety accreditation standards and annual audits for women’s health providers; and establishing a biannual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s health conference.The strategy is designed to supplement existing State and Territory documents which identify priorities and needs.
Presented by Bob Neumayer at the Consumers Reforming Health Conference 2011.
Managing Two Worlds Together: Study 2-Staff Perspectives on Care for Country Aboriginal Patients
Study 2-Staff Perspectives on Care for Country Aboriginal Patients reports the views of staff who provide care for country Aboriginal patients in city and country hospitals and health services
Managing Two Worlds Together: Study 3-The Experiences of Patients and Their Carers
Study 3-The Experiences of Patients and Their Carers is a first-hand report of rural Aboriginal patients and their carers.
National Rural Health Alliance
The Alliance works to improve the health of Australians in rural and remote areas. It represents both health consumers and service providers, and believes that all Australians should have equitable access to appropriate health services, regardless of where they live.
Working with consumers in remote and rural locations.
Roundtable Reports of Priorities of Rural Consumers who travel for Health Care
These reports are a summary of the roundtables conducted by Health Issues Centre in Gippsland and Loddon Mallee regions of Victoria.
The Priorities of Victorian rural consumers who travel for health care
he Priorities of Victorian rural consumers who travel for health care-
A summary report of seven key priorities
towards ‘whole-of-journey’ supportive and coordinated care
The needs of Victorian rural consumers who travel to Melbourne hospitals
This discussion paper was developed following concerns expressed by several metropolitan hospitals’ Community Advisory Committees (CAC) about the range of issues faced by rural consumers when using city hospitals. Health Issues Centre (HIC) proposed developing a discussion paper and the work was funded by the Statewide Quality Branch of the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS).
The priorities of Victorian rural consumers who travel for healthcare- Gippsland Roundtable Summary
The priorities of Victorian rural consumers who travel for healthcare- Gippsland Roundtable Summary Traralgon, Victoria 4 December 2008
10.30 am - 4.00 pm
This summary is a documentation of the outcomes from a roundtable held in the Gippsland region. The aim of the roundtable was to discuss recommendations and actions raised in the HIC discussion paper The Needs of Victorian Rural Consumers Who Travel to Melbourne Hospitals.
The priorities of Victorian rural consumers who travel for healthcare- Loddon Mallee Roundtable Summary 24 April 2009.
This report brings together the reflections and ideas generated by consumers and health care workers from the Loddon Mallee region in Victoria and Melbourne who discussed ‘The needs of Victorian consumers who travel for healthcare’ and worked together to consider and define solutions and strategies to the key issues.
Vietnamese-born health professionals: negotiating work and life in rural Australia
This study explored the experiences of six Australian-trained, overseas-born Vietnamese health professionals living and working in rural Australia. There is a considerable body of research on the experiences of overseas-trained health professionals1-3, especially doctors, in rural Australia but very little about those who have previously lived and trained in Australia, particularly those with a Vietnamese background. It may be assumed that Australians who grew up in a rural area are more likely to practise rurally, but there is no evidence regarding the influence of early life experiences of overseas-born, Australian-trained health professionals on their choice of practice location.
Thirty per cent of our population lives outside our capital cities and major regional centres — some by choice, others by “happenstance”. Still, the perception of peace and tranquillity and a slower pace of life would suggest that mental illness should be more problematic for the city dwellers in their ‘rat race’ environments. However, living in the country carries additional risks to mental health and wellbeing and additional problems in accessing treatment and recovery support. This article looks at the challenges facing people with mental illness in rural areas and shows how communities are working to make things better.
This research report focuses on the experience of rural women with breast cancer and implications for the provision of health services is an example of participatory research. It was designed to explore the effects of breast cancer and breast cancer treatment on rural women. 20 women in the Hume region of Victoria who had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer were asked to reflect on the effect of breast cancer on their lives, and on the nature and quality of the services they received. They spoke about what was helpful to them and gave their views on how services could be improved.
