Rural Remote Health
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Rural Remote Health · May 2018
ReviewMapping the interprofessional education landscape for students on rural clinical placements: an integrative literature review.
Interprofessional collaboration and effective teamwork are core to optimising rural health outcomes; however, little is known about the opportunities available for interprofessional education (IPE) in rural clinical learning environments. This integrative literature review addresses this deficit by identifying, analysing and synthesising the research available about the nature of and potential for IPE provided to undergraduate students undertaking rural placements, the settings and disciplines involved and the outcomes achieved. ⋯ This review addresses the lack of attention given to understanding IPE in the rural context, provides Australian and international evidence that initiatives are being offered to diverse student groups undertaking placements in rural settings and proposes a research agenda to develop a relevant framework to support rural IPE. Rural clinical learning environments afford a rich resource whereby health professionals can conceptualise IPE creatively and holistically to construct transformative learning experiences for students. This review develops a case for supporting the development, trialling, evaluation and translation of IPE initiatives that harness the opportunities afforded by rural placements. Further research is required to examine the ways to optimise IPE opportunities in the rural clinical context, including the potential for simulation-based activities, the challenges to achieving sustainable programs, and to evaluate the impact of interprofessional education on collaboration and health outcomes.
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Rural Remote Health · Oct 2016
ReviewPrescription opioid prescribing, use/misuse, harms and treatment among Aboriginal people in Canada: a narrative review of available data and indicators.
Prescription opioid (PO) misuse and related harms are high in Canada, and a major public health challenge. In Canada, 1.4 million individuals (4.3% of the total population) self-identify as Aboriginal, among whom substance use and related harms are elevated. While there are reports of PO use and associated problems among Aboriginal groups, no comprehensive data review currently exists. ⋯ Data regarding PO use and harms among Aboriginal people are limited, even though elevated problem levels are indicated; improved monitoring, and more effective yet culturally and contextually appropriate interventions for this acute problem are needed.
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Rural Remote Health · Oct 2016
ReviewTelehealth services in rural and remote Australia: a systematic review of models of care and factors influencing success and sustainability.
With the escalating costs of health care, issues with recruitment and retention of health practitioners in rural areas, and poor economies of scale, the question of delivering people to services or services to people is a dilemma for health authorities around the world. People living in rural areas have poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts, and the problem of how to provide health care and deliver services in rural locations is an ongoing challenge. Telehealth services can efficiently and effectively improve access to healthcare for people living in rural and remote areas of Australia. However, telehealth services are not mainstream or routinely available in many rural and remote locations. The barriers to integration of telehealth into mainstream practice have been well described, but not the factors that may influence the success and sustainability of a service. Our aim was to collate, review and synthesise the available literature regarding telehealth services in rural and remote locations of Australia, and to identify the factors associated with their sustained success. ⋯ Telehealth has the potential to address many of the key challenges to providing health in Australia, with its substantial land area and widely dispersed population. This review collates information regarding the telehealth services in Australia and describes models of care and characteristics of successful and sustainable services. We identified a wide variety of telehealth services being provided in rural and remote areas of Australia. There is great potential to increase this number by scaling up and replicating successful services. This review provides information for policy makers, governments and public and private health services that wish to integrate telehealth into routine practice and for telehealth providers to enhance the sustainability of their service.
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Rural Remote Health · Oct 2016
ReviewTelehealth services in rural and remote Australia: a systematic review of models of care and factors influencing success and sustainability.
With the escalating costs of health care, issues with recruitment and retention of health practitioners in rural areas, and poor economies of scale, the question of delivering people to services or services to people is a dilemma for health authorities around the world. People living in rural areas have poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts, and the problem of how to provide health care and deliver services in rural locations is an ongoing challenge. Telehealth services can efficiently and effectively improve access to healthcare for people living in rural and remote areas of Australia. However, telehealth services are not mainstream or routinely available in many rural and remote locations. The barriers to integration of telehealth into mainstream practice have been well described, but not the factors that may influence the success and sustainability of a service. Our aim was to collate, review and synthesise the available literature regarding telehealth services in rural and remote locations of Australia, and to identify the factors associated with their sustained success. ⋯ Telehealth has the potential to address many of the key challenges to providing health in Australia, with its substantial land area and widely dispersed population. This review collates information regarding the telehealth services in Australia and describes models of care and characteristics of successful and sustainable services. We identified a wide variety of telehealth services being provided in rural and remote areas of Australia. There is great potential to increase this number by scaling up and replicating successful services. This review provides information for policy makers, governments and public and private health services that wish to integrate telehealth into routine practice and for telehealth providers to enhance the sustainability of their service.
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Rural Remote Health · Oct 2016
ReviewTelehealth services in rural and remote Australia: a systematic review of models of care and factors influencing success and sustainability.
With the escalating costs of health care, issues with recruitment and retention of health practitioners in rural areas, and poor economies of scale, the question of delivering people to services or services to people is a dilemma for health authorities around the world. People living in rural areas have poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts, and the problem of how to provide health care and deliver services in rural locations is an ongoing challenge. Telehealth services can efficiently and effectively improve access to healthcare for people living in rural and remote areas of Australia. However, telehealth services are not mainstream or routinely available in many rural and remote locations. The barriers to integration of telehealth into mainstream practice have been well described, but not the factors that may influence the success and sustainability of a service. Our aim was to collate, review and synthesise the available literature regarding telehealth services in rural and remote locations of Australia, and to identify the factors associated with their sustained success. ⋯ Telehealth has the potential to address many of the key challenges to providing health in Australia, with its substantial land area and widely dispersed population. This review collates information regarding the telehealth services in Australia and describes models of care and characteristics of successful and sustainable services. We identified a wide variety of telehealth services being provided in rural and remote areas of Australia. There is great potential to increase this number by scaling up and replicating successful services. This review provides information for policy makers, governments and public and private health services that wish to integrate telehealth into routine practice and for telehealth providers to enhance the sustainability of their service.