Recent Research Papers and Reports

Researchers from the University Departments of Rural Health publish in a wide variety of national and international journals.

A selection of the most recent papers is provided below.

Date Published

Publication Title (click to view)

26
Jun, 2025
Good Arts, Good Mental Health®: the effectiveness of an Australian health promotion media campaign in promoting community mental wellbeing via the arts
Good Arts, Good Mental Health®: the effectiveness of an Australian health promotion media campaign in promoting community mental wellbeing via the arts
Abstract Summary
Introduction: This study describes and evaluates Good Arts, Good Mental Health® (GAGMH), a groundbreaking, population-level, arts-mental health promotion media campaign. The objectives of the campaign (Wave 1) were to increase brand awareness, comprehension, and agreement with the tagline Good Arts, Good Mental Health® and empower the general population to form an intention to engage in the Arts for their mental wellbeing. Methods: The campaign ran from August to September 2024 (4 weeks), cost AUD$198,965 (23% creative and 77% media/advertising distribution), and targeted the Western Australian (WA) general population aged 18–65 years, all genders, in both metropolitan and regional areas. The [...]
25
Jun, 2025
What do Australian university staff perceive are the features of high-quality rural health student placements? A sequential explanatory study
What do Australian university staff perceive are the features of high-quality rural health student placements? A sequential explanatory study
Abstract Summary
Abstract Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the features of high-quality rural health student placements from the perspective of university staff involved in designing, delivering and evaluating these programmes. Design A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed, integrating quantitative survey data with qualitative interview findings to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research question. Setting and participants The study was conducted online and sampled staff from universities across Australia, focusing on rural health student placements. The study involved 121 university staff members who participated in the survey, with 10 of these participants also taking part in follow-up qualitative interviews. [...]
5
Jun, 2025
Learning in a contextually complex rural clinical placement
Learning in a contextually complex rural clinical placement
Abstract Summary
Introducing students to real-world contexts through clinical placements can provide rich learning experiences. In health professional education, these placements primarily focus on the supervised development of clinical skills within discipline-specific contexts. However, numerous implicit contexts influence the learning event, which may not be explicitly addressed in the placement’s curriculum or teaching structure but are nonetheless pedagogically significant. This study examines the distinctive contexts of a student-led, interdisciplinary Aboriginal allied health service placement in rural South Australia, highlighting the contexts’ unique experiential characteristics. We used a bricolage of phenomenological engagement and abductive thinking to investigate students’ experiences within and across these [...]
15
May, 2025
Observed and Reported Outcomes Following Experiential Cultural Capability and Clinical Yarning Training for Clinicians Treating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Persistent Pain
Observed and Reported Outcomes Following Experiential Cultural Capability and Clinical Yarning Training for Clinicians Treating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Persistent Pain
Abstract Summary
Abstract Communication is recognised as crucial to culturally safe healthcare, and poor communication remains a major reason that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not access healthcare. This pragmatic, pre-post comparison study employed mixed methods to evaluate cultural capability and clinical yarning training delivered to 57 clinicians supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at three persistent pain management services in Queensland, Australia. Observable outcomes of the training were evaluated by video recording clinicians’ training experiences and seven consultations with patients that occurred either pre- or post-training. Reported outcomes were evaluated by using a modified Cultural Safety Survey (CSS), [...]
6
May, 2025
Training for dementia care and support in rural and remote Australia: appraisals from a nationwide workforce survey
Training for dementia care and support in rural and remote Australia: appraisals from a nationwide workforce survey
Abstract Summary
Background Dementia is a growing challenge to health and aged care worldwide and is the leading cause of disease burden in older Australians. High-quality person-centred care of people with dementia and support for their family caregivers require a trained multidisciplinary health and aged care workforce. Compared with major cities in Australia, rural and remote areas encounter greater challenges in workforce recruitment and retention. Moreover, these areas have distinctive distance-related barriers to workforce training and a higher proportion of aged and First Nations people at elevated risk of developing dementia. We designed and distributed a survey to investigate the perspectives on [...]
1
May, 2025
Essential service accessibility and contribution to quality of life: a systematic review
Essential service accessibility and contribution to quality of life: a systematic review
Abstract Summary
Background Essential services ensure the health, safety, and well-being of individuals and their communities. However, there is currently a lack of consensus on what constitutes an essential service in Australia. This gap hinders a detailed spatial understanding of essential service provision, access, and influence on populations. This systematic review critically assessed the literature on essential services and their impact on quality of life to understand service definitions and their relative contributions to quality of life. Methods A systematic search of ten databases was undertaken following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology. Five criteria were established for [...]
14
Apr, 2025
Placing Rural in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Review
Placing Rural in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Review
Abstract Summary
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is considered Australia’s landmark disability support policy reform. The Scheme’s implementation has revealed several benefits but also critical shortcomings. The Scheme’s benefits have not been equitably distributed with people living in regional, rural and remote areas receiving less. The Australian Government’s Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2023 provided recommendations for improvements to ensure equitable benefits for all Australians. We use a distributed rural proofing lens to explore how processes, recommendations and actions described in the Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme considered regional, rural and remote contexts. The Review [...]
8
Apr, 2025
Reframing Nurse Education in Rural Australia: Implications for Advancing Longitudinal Integrated Placements
Reframing Nurse Education in Rural Australia: Implications for Advancing Longitudinal Integrated Placements
Abstract Summary
ABSTRACT Objective To explore the experiences of final-year pre-registration nursing students undertaking a longitudinal integrated placement in rural Australia. Setting Rural primary health care settings in far west NSW and northwest Victoria, Australia. Participants Thirteen final year pre-registration nursing students comprised two pilot cohorts undertaking the placement in semester one (n = 7) and two (n = 6) of 2022. Design A descriptive qualitative study design using semi-structured individual interviews with transcripts analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Three themes were generated from the data: Experiencing comprehensive care, Making connections and Engaging with complexity. The subtheme of rural curriculum is described for each theme. [...]
27
Mar, 2025
Valid measures of cognitive assessment with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are urgently needed: construct and concurrent validity of the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform Assessment (PRPP-A)
Valid measures of cognitive assessment with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are urgently needed: construct and concurrent validity of the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform Assessment (PRPP-A)
Abstract Summary
Abstract Purpose Initial studies identified the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform Assessment (PRPP-A) as a cognitive assessment with potential for culturally safe use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with neurocognitive impairments in the Northern Territory of Australia. This study examines construct and concurrent validity of the PRPP-A. Methods Data were collected from a medical record review. Construct validity was examined using multifaceted Rasch analysis on 44 PRPP-A scores. Concurrent validity was evaluated using Pearson’s product–moment correlation to examine relationships between the PRPP-A and Functional Independence Measure Cognitive subscale (FIM Cognition). Results PRPP-A test items demonstrate good fit with [...]
18
Mar, 2025
Empathy Increased in Rural and Remote Health and Social Care Workers by Participation in the Hearing Voices That Are Distressing Simulation Workshop
Empathy Increased in Rural and Remote Health and Social Care Workers by Participation in the Hearing Voices That Are Distressing Simulation Workshop
Abstract Summary
Evidence suggests that health care workers are often uncomfortable talking with people about hearing voices, despite recommendations that voice-hearers be provided with opportunities to freely discuss their experiences. Moreover, in rural and remote Australia, workforce shortages mean that a broader range of workers, often non-specialists, are providing services for people with complex mental health presentations. Improving the skills of this non-specialist workforce is therefore an important endeavour. The Hearing Voices that are Distressing (HVD) simulation workshop was originally developed by voice-hearers and provides participants with first-hand experience of what it might be like to hear voices that are distressing. HVD [...]