Comparison of research experience and support needs of rural versus regional allied health professionals

Pain, Tilley; Plummer, David; Pighills, Alison; Harvey, Desley

doi:10.1111/ajr.12234

Cited by 37 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…It is possible that effective and targeted interventions are taking place in many rural settings; however, they are not being published in the academic literature for others to learn from. It is known that rural health professionals feel ill-equipped to undertake, complete, and publish research, and this is due to a lack of resources, supervision, and perceived skills in rural areas [28, 29]. Research with larger samples and more rigorous study designs are required to progress strategies for reducing IHD burden in rural Australia, and worldwide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of published interventions for primary and secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in rural populations of Australia

et al. 2016

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BackgroundRural Australians are known to experience a higher burden of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) than their metropolitan counterparts and the reasons for this appear to be highly complex and not well understood. It is not clear what interventions and prevention efforts have occurred specifically in rural Australia in terms of IHD. A summary of this evidence could have implications for future action and research in improving the health of rural communities. The aim of this study was to review all published interventions conducted in rural Australia that were aimed at the primary and/or secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in adults.MethodsSystematic review of the peer-reviewed literature published between January 1990 and December 2015. Search terms were derived from four major topics: (1) rural; (2) ischaemic heart disease; (3) Australia and; (4) intervention/prevention. Terms were adapted for six databases and three independent researchers screened results. Studies were included if the published work described an intervention focussed on the prevention or reduction of IHD or risk factors, specifically in a rural population of Australia, with outcomes specific to participants including, but not limited to, changes in diet, exercise, cholesterol or blood pressure levels.ResultsOf 791 papers identified in the search, seven studies met the inclusion criteria, and one further study was retrieved from searching reference lists of screened abstracts. Typically, excluded studies focused on cardiovascular diseases without specific reference to IHD, or presented intervention results without stratification by rurality. Larger trials that included metropolitan residents without stratification were excluded due to differences in the specific needs, characteristics and health service access challenges of rural populations. Six interventions were primary prevention studies, one was secondary prevention only and one included both primary and secondary intervention strategies. Two interventions were focussed exclusively on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Australian Indigenous) populations.ConclusionsFew interventions were identified that exclusively focussed on IHD prevention in rural communities, despite these populations being at increased risk of IHD in Australia, and this is consistent with comparable countries, internationally. Although limited, available evidence shows that primary and secondary interventions targeted at IHD and related risk factors can be effective in a rural setting.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3548-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of published interventions for primary and secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in rural populations of Australia

et al. 2016

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“…6,7 There is some evidence of recent increases in investment and prioritisation in rural and regional research capacity building at an organisational level in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia. 10 Supporting research-ready rural health workers to conduct research with increased skills, training, academic and statistical support, infrastructure and quarantined time is likely to produce better outcomes for research capacity building investment 4,11 and enable clinicians to progress as researchers despite the challenges of undertaking research in a rural area. 9 Sitting alongside this has been the ongoing investment in rural clinical schools and university departments of rural health which has produced high quality research to inform rural practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3] Experienced rural clinicians understand the unique characteristics and needs related to rural health service delivery, although they are not necessarily well equipped to investigate identified needs or gaps in service delivery. 4,5 Increasing rural research capacity requires investment and support at the organisational, management and clinician levels to bring about a strong research transfer to practice. 6,7 There is some evidence of recent increases in investment and prioritisation in rural and regional research capacity building at an organisational level in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Sitting alongside this has been the ongoing investment in rural clinical schools and university departments of rural health which has produced high quality research to inform rural practice. 10 Supporting research-ready rural health workers to conduct research with increased skills, training, academic and statistical support, infrastructure and quarantined time is likely to produce better outcomes for research capacity building investment 4,11 and enable clinicians to progress as researchers despite the challenges of undertaking research in a rural area. 12 While there is some evidence that initiatives aimed at increasing rural research activity enhance positive attitudes towards research, [13][14][15] little is known about the effect these initiatives have on research experience of novice researchers, 16 particularly in rural areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Building research experience: Impact of a novice researcher development program for rural health workers

Schmidt

Webster

Duncanson

2019

Australian J Rural Health

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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the Rural Research Capacity Building Program on self-reported research experience of rural health workers. Design: A repeat cross-sectional study design was used to assess self-reported research experience at the commencement and completion of a novice researcher development program. Setting: Candidates in the Rural Research Capacity Building Program are health workers employed in the rural NSW public health service who have not completed research higher degrees. Participants: One hundred and thirty candidates of the Rural Research Capacity Building Program from the 2006 to 2013 cohorts were participated. Interventions: The Rural Research Capacity Building Program is an experiential learning program in which candidates gain research experience by undertaking a new, self-selected, local health service endorsed research project over a 2-year period, supported by 10 days face-to-face teaching, weekly teleconferencing and mentoring. Main outcome measures: Change in self-assessed research experience using a validated 10-item measurement tool known as the Research Spider which measures 10 domains of research experience. Results: Reported research experience demonstrated statistically significant increases across all 10 domains of research experience. The largest change was 'writing and presenting a research report' and 'writing a research protocol'. Conclusions: Significant increases in Research Spider results across all 10 domains demonstrated that completing the Rural Research Capacity Building Program significantly improves self-assessed research experience. Rural health workers who are experienced and confident to undertake research are more capable of studying health problems and finding solutions unique to the rural setting. K E Y W O R D S capacity building, research, Research Spider, rural, self-assessment of research experience | 393 SCHMIDT eT al.

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“…Practitioners describe high workload with limited time or resources to focus on research activity and sporadic support from managers [8, 25,26]. The research literacy of individual managers within allied health is also varied, leaving many ill-equipped to support staff research development or signpost to experienced clinical academics [11,27,28]. This suggests further support is needed to enable all individual practitioners to continue to develop research skills, and for allied health leaders to track and support the research abilities of others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Consolidated Research Career Framework for Allied Health Professionals in the UK

Harris

Grafton

Cooke

2019

Preprint

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Background Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) form a significant part of the healthcare workforce, and have a great potential to improve services through research and research-informed practice. However, there is a lack of tradition in undertaking research alongside practice in these professional groups. Barriers include clinical caseload pressures, a lack of training and consequent lack of confidence in practitioners. Practice managers are ill-equipped to monitor and guide staff research development. Uni-professional knowledge & skills frameworks can act as further barriers to research culture across the healthcare system that is moving toward multi-disciplinary research focussing on the patient. A common framework, acceptable to all AHPs might be helpful in planning and developing clinical career pathways. Aim: to develop a consolidated research career framework to help plan and guide research activity throughout AHP clinical-academic careers. The study was conducted in three phases. Methods Phase one identified existing AHP research frameworks (AHPRF) through expert consultations and literature searches. Phase two involved Framework Analysis of the AHPRFs to develop a single consolidated framework. Phase three included a workshop with experts to validate and adapt the framework for practice. Results 19 AHPRFs were identified. A consolidated framework was shaped by analysis of the AHPRFs resulting in a consolidated framework of eight sections, each containing a series of statements. Each section relates to an analytic theme within the thematic analysis, and the statements were based on sub-categories of themes. The final framework was further shaped by the phase three workshop into a set of ‘stem’ statements that can be adapted to reflect different levels of expertise and the inclusion of a set of guiding principles developed through expert consultation. Conclusion The consolidated framework was entitled ‘Shaping Better Practice Through Research: A Practitioner Framework’ by stakeholders, thus emphasising its ambition to embed research activity into practice. It instigates a new perspective within AHP research by offering practitioners and managers a tool that can be applied across public, private and voluntary settings for AHPs in all disciplines. Its ambition is to develop capacity in the AHPs that can undertake research to improve services and the health of service users.

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Comparison of research experience and support needs of rural versus regional allied health professionals

Abstract: Rural HPs are younger and have less research experience than their counterparts working in regional cities. Therefore, building rural HP research capacity initiatives may require more access to facilitators such as the Research Fellows.

Cited by 37 publications

References 18 publications

A systematic review of published interventions for primary and secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in rural populations of Australia

A systematic review of published interventions for primary and secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in rural populations of Australia

Building research experience: Impact of a novice researcher development program for rural health workers

Developing a Consolidated Research Career Framework for Allied Health Professionals in the UK

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