Rural and remote speech-language pathology service inequities: An Australian human rights dilemma

Jones, Debra; McAllister, Lindy; Lyle, David

doi:10.1080/17549507.2018.1400103

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…For instance, families must travel long distances to access allied health services for children in remote settings, notably paediatric speech pathologists [65, 66]. Access to speech therapy is particularly important because of high rates of otitis media, hearing problems and poor language skills in remote Indigenous children [67, 68], which impact development, education and intergenerational transfer of cultural knowledge. In rural NSW and Victoria, over 30% of residents live beyond the ‘critical maximum distance’ of 50km from an allied health professional, beyond which patients are less likely to travel.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: a scoping review

Dossetor

Freeman

Thorburn

et al. 2022

Preprint

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In Australia, there is a significant gap between health outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, which may relate to inequity in health service provision, particularly in remote areas. The aim was to conduct a scoping review to identify publications in the academic and grey literature and describe 1) Existing health services for Indigenous children in remote Australia and service use, 2) Workforce challenges in remote settings, 3) Characteristics of an effective health service, and 4) Models of care and solutions. Electronic databases of medical/health literature were searched (Jan 1990 to May 2021). Grey literature was identified through investigation of websites, including of local, state and national health departments. Identified papers (n=1775) were screened and duplicates removed. Information was extracted and summarised from 116 papers that met review inclusion criteria (70 from electronic medical databases and 45 from the grey literature). This review identified that existing services struggle to meet demand. Barriers to effective child health service delivery in remote Australia include availability of trained staff, limited services, and difficult access. Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations are effective and should receive increased support including increased training and remuneration for Aboriginal Health Workers. Continuous quality assessment of existing and future programs will improve quality; as will measures that reflect aboriginal ways of knowing and being, that go beyond traditional Key Performance Indicators. Gold standard models for service delivery have community leadership and collaboration. Increased resources with a focus on primary prevention and health promotion are essential.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: a scoping review

Dossetor

Freeman

Thorburn

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For instance, families must travel long distances to access allied health services for children in remote settings, notably paediatric speech pathologists [64,65]. Access to speech therapy is particularly important because of high rates of otitis media, hearing problems and poor language skills in remote Indigenous children [66,67], which impact development, education and intergenerational transfer of cultural knowledge. In rural NSW and Victoria, over 30% of residents live beyond the 'critical maximum distance' of 50km from an allied health professional, beyond which patients are less likely to travel.…”

Section: Plos Global Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health services for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: A scoping review

Dossetor

Freeman²,

Thorburn³

et al. 2023

PLOS Glob Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Australia, there is a significant gap between health outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, which may relate to inequity in health service provision, particularly in remote areas. The aim was to conduct a scoping review to identify publications in the academic and grey literature and describe 1) Existing health services for Indigenous children in remote Australia and service use, 2) Workforce challenges in remote settings, 3) Characteristics of an effective health service, and 4) Models of care and solutions. Electronic databases of medical/health literature were searched (Jan 1990 to May 2021). Grey literature was identified through investigation of websites, including of local, state and national health departments. Identified papers (n = 1775) were screened and duplicates removed. Information was extracted and summarised from 116 papers that met review inclusion criteria (70 from electronic medical databases and 45 from the grey literature). This review identified that existing services struggle to meet demand. Barriers to effective child health service delivery in remote Australia include availability of trained staff, limited services, and difficult access. Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations are effective and should receive increased support including increased training and remuneration for Aboriginal Health Workers. Continuous quality assessment of existing and future programs will improve quality; as will measures that reflect aboriginal ways of knowing and being, that go beyond traditional Key Performance Indicators. Best practice models for service delivery have community leadership and collaboration. Increased resources with a focus on primary prevention and health promotion are essential.

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“…There are strong links to equity and human rights as the goals focused on addressing many of the social challenges which impact health. Within the professional discourse, there has been a shifting focus to understanding the role of the SLT/A within social justice and human rights frameworks [ 8 , 13 – 15 ]. Such a refocusing draws attention to how the professions can begin to work toward developing fair and just services—in line with equity.…”

Section: Why Is It Important To Do the Scoping Review?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging professional practices focusing on reducing inequity in speech-language therapy and audiology: a scoping review protocol

et al. 2022

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Background Human communication is essential for socialising, learning and working. Disabilities and social disadvantage have serious negative consequences on communication which can impact development from early life into adulthood. While speech-language therapists and audiologists (SLT/As) have an important role to play in addressing communication disability and disadvantage, services continue to be inaccessible, unaffordable and unattainable for the majority population. In order to support this large population, it is necessary to reimagine SLT/A practices in line with equity and social inclusion. Recently in the literature, there have been increasing calls for professions to reduce inequities in practice as indicated by the sustainable development goals, human rights and social inclusion approaches increasing in prominence. For the scoping review, equity is understood using the colonial matrix of power to understand how intersections of race, gender, class, disability, geography, heteronormativity and language create the context for inequity. As such, the aim of the scoping review is to address the following question: what are the emerging professional practices in SLT/A focused on reducing inequities? Methods Following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, this scoping review will focus on systematically mapping the documented emerging clinical practices in SLT/A in the literature to identify how the professions are developing equitable practices. The search will include electronic databases and grey literature including PubMed, Scopus, EbscoHost, The Cochrane Library and Dissertation Abstracts International, Education Resource Information Centre from their inception onwards. Published and unpublished literature including all evidence sources will be considered. There should be a clear focus on clinical practice addressing equity in SLT/A. There will be no language limitations for the study. The authors will endeavour translate to have abstracts of articles translated. There will be no time restrictions on date of publication of the literature. Discussion We aim to review the current literature on emerging professional practices in relation to equity in SLT/A to identify emerging trends in clinical practice. It is our goal to provide a synthesis of emerging directions for practice, particularly to inform future practices in the Global South. Systematic review registration Open Science Framework (osf.io/3a29w).

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Rural and remote speech-language pathology service inequities: An Australian human rights dilemma

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: a scoping review

Health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: a scoping review

Health services for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: A scoping review

Emerging professional practices focusing on reducing inequity in speech-language therapy and audiology: a scoping review protocol

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