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BackgroundHigh quality, contemporary data regarding patterns of chronic disease is essential for planning by health services, policy makers and local governments, but surprisingly scarce, including in rural Australia. This dearth of data occurs despite the recognition that rural Australians live with high rates of ill health, poor health behaviours and restricted access to health services. Crossroads-II is set in the Goulburn Valley, a rural region of Victoria, Australia 100–300 km north of metropolitan Melbourne. It is primarily an irrigated agricultural area.The aim of the study is to identify changes in the prevalence of key chronic health conditions including the extent of undiagnosed and undermanaged disease, and association with access to care, over a 15 year period.Methods/designThis study is a 15 year follow up from the 2000–2003 Crossroads-I study (2376 households participated). Crossroads-II includes a similar face to face household survey of 3600 randomly selected households across four towns of sizes 6300 to 49,800 (50% sampled in the larger town with the remainder sampled equally from the three smaller towns). Self-reported health, health behaviour and health service usage information is verified and supplemented in a nested sub-study of 900 randomly selected adult participants in ‘clinics’ involving a range of additional questionnaires and biophysical measurements. The study is expected to run from October 2016 to December 2018.DiscussionBesides providing epidemiological and health service utilisation information relating to different diseases and their risk factors in towns of different sizes, the results will be used to develop a composite measure of health service access. The importance of access to health services will be investigated by assessing the correlation of this measure with rates of undiagnosed and undermanaged disease at the mesh block level. Results will be shared with partner organisations to inform service planning and interventions to improve health outcomes for local people.

Background:The evidence available suggests that many dentists on graduation do not feel competent managing medical emergencies; a problem requiring improved undergraduate training. This study developed a comprehensive simulation based training programme for final year undergraduate dental students and assessed student attitudes towards training. Methods: Final year dental students (n = 52) from The University of Melbourne were required to complete simulation training incorporating an interactive tutorial and realistic, simulated emergency scenarios conducted in the students' real clinical environment. A post-participation questionnaire utilizing a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) assessed student attitudes. Results: Student responses supported simulation training, evidenced by the following selected questionnaire responses: achieved greater confidence in managing emergencies 4.65 ± 0.48 (n = 52); prefer lecture to simulation 1.46 ± 0.74 (n = 52); simulation training is important in undergraduate teaching 4.86 ± 0.35 (n = 43). Conclusions: Realistic simulation training in management of medical emergencies for dental students is an effective adjunct to traditional lecture style teaching. Given the importance of this subject, this mode of training would benefit students if incorporated into undergraduate dental courses.