The allied health workforce of rural Aotearoa New Zealand: a scoping review

Walker, Sarah M.; Kennedy, Ewan; Nixon, Garry; Blattner, Katharina

doi:10.1071/hc22055

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…36 Despite the international recognition of the importance of allied health services in rural and remote communities, 8 there is very little research exploring the allied health professionals of rural Aotearoa New Zealand. 13 Further work is needed to build a more comprehensive understanding of the rural allied health workforce to; (i) define the role of allied health professionals in rural health services, (ii) develop supportive networks and pathways, and (iii) grow a rural workforce that is fit for purpose with a particular focus on Māori health and equity. In all these research areas, there needs to be an emphasis on underserved populations including socioeconomically deprived rural communities with poor healthcare access.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the medical profession now has a well‐established rural training program, (Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme) supporting the rural medical workforce, 34,35 and strengthening clinical practice to improve the scope of services able to be offered in rural areas 36 . Despite the international recognition of the importance of allied health services in rural and remote communities, 8 there is very little research exploring the allied health professionals of rural Aotearoa New Zealand 13 . Further work is needed to build a more comprehensive understanding of the rural allied health workforce to; (i) define the role of allied health professionals in rural health services, (ii) develop supportive networks and pathways, and (iii) grow a rural workforce that is fit for purpose with a particular focus on Māori health and equity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10,12 Despite the presence of allied health professionals in rural areas, very little is known about their role within rural Aotearoa New Zealand. 13 Much of the literature around the rural health workforce within Aotearoa New Zealand has focused on the medical and nursing professions. To address the health inequities evident in rural communities, the entire rural health workforce must be well understood and fit for purpose.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This workforce makes up Aotearoa New Zealand's second‐largest clinical professional group with approximately 30 000 individual practitioners and forms a key part of healthcare teams across Aotearoa New Zealand 10,12 . Despite the presence of allied health professionals in rural areas, very little is known about their role within rural Aotearoa New Zealand 13 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What does it mean to be an allied health professional working in rural Aotearoa New Zealand? A qualitative study

Walker,

Blattner,

Nixon

et al. 2023

Australian J Rural Health

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ObjectiveBuilding health services and workforce that are both well supported and fit for purpose is a key consideration for improving health outcomes in rural populations. Achieving this requires an understanding of the roles and practice characteristic of each professional group, including allied health professionals. This study explores what it means to be an allied health professional practicing in rural Aotearoa New Zealand.DesignA qualitative study design was used, involving individual semi‐structured interviews with 13 rural allied health professionals in the Otago and Northland regions. The interviews explored participants journey into rural practice, their experiences working rurally, and their views on rural practice.FindingsFour main themes were derived: Identity; Connectedness; Expectations; and Providing Care.DiscussionProud of being rural, these allied health professionals are immersed within their community, intertwining their professional and personal identities. The unique nature of this dual identity while empowering for some, can also isolate rural allied health professionals from their professional bodies and urban peers. This leads to a sense of vulnerability and feeling undervalued and invisible. In response, rural allied health professionals choose to form strong connections to their local interprofessional team and their community. The connections they forge, and the breadth of their skills cumulate to enable allied health professionals to provide dynamic and responsive health services for their rural communities.ConclusionThis study provides the first insight into experiences and perspectives of allied health professionals within rural Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the challenges, a sense of pride is associated with practicing rurally for allied health professionals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What does it mean to be an allied health professional working in rural Aotearoa New Zealand? A qualitative study

Walker,

Blattner,

Nixon

et al. 2023

Australian J Rural Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This study identified a lack of resources compared to urban counterparts; this is attributed to the lack of skilled staff, physical resources, and equipment, along with funding, lack of community, cultural awareness, and leadership. These barriers, which prevent the needs of the community from being met, have been repeatedly identified as significantly limiting the delivery of healthcare [37][38][39]. Overall, despite rural health professionals working with limited resources, they effectively utilise an adaptive approach to practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Identity to Ambugity: Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration Opportunities for Pharmacists in Rural and Remote Australia

et al. 2023

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Rural and remote populations are predisposed to poorer health outcomes, largely associated with limited access to health services and health professionals. This disparity provides an opportunity for health professionals to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams to deliver improved health outcomes for rural and remote communities. This study aims to explore exercise physiologist and podiatrist perceptions of interprofessional practice opportunities with pharmacists. Role theory provided a framework for this qualitative study. Interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed according to the constructs of role theory (role identity, role sufficiency, role overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity). The perceptions of participants varied, largely due to the lack of understanding of the role and scope of the practice of a pharmacist. Participants acknowledged and adopted a flexible approach to the way in which they delivered health services to meet the needs of the community. They also described a more “generalist” approach to care, owing to the high prevalence of disease and disease complexity, along with a lack of staffing and resources. The potential for increased interprofessional collaboration was supported and identified as a strategy to manage significant workloads and provide improved patient healthcare. The application of role theory to this qualitative study provides insight into perceptions of interprofessional practice that may inform future development of remote practice models of care.

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New Zealand’s health system reforms: an uncertain road paved with good intentions?

Stokes

Goodyear‐Smith

2022

J. Prim. Health Care

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The Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) health reforms came into effect on 1 July 2022 through the Te Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act. 1 A new national health system has been established with two new entities: Te Whatu Ora -Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora -Māori Health Authority. The reforms will, according to the government, lead to 'a more equitable, accessible, cohesive and people-centred system that will improve the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders.' 2 But will these good intentions come to fruition? 'Big bang' health reforms come and go, and only sometimes do they result in an improvement in the existing system; at other times they lead to little more than structural redisorganisation. 3,4 A related question is 'what's in the reforms for general practice and primary health care?' -given that there is no new primary health care strategy, with the existing strategy now over 20 years old. 5 In this issue of the Journal of Primary Health Care our two guest editorials explore what the health reforms may mean for primary health care. Don Matheson and colleagues ask whether primary health and community care (PHCC) will in fact be brought in from the cold, as the last decade has seen little government attention to, or acknowledgement of the importance of, PHCC to NZ's publicly funded health system. 6 Their analysis raises two concerns. First, PHCC historically has been underfunded relative to hospital services, and the 2022-2023 health budget does nothing to readdress this longstanding problem. Second, there is an absence of a specific PHCC directorate within either Te Whatu Ora or the Ministry of Health. They conclude that the reform's legislation, budgets and structures have largely played down the considerable potential of the PHCC sector to drive health improvement and equity. In contrast, Tim Tenbensel focuses on the most important aspect of the reforms for PHCC, the development of 'localities', defined as a place-based approach to planning and delivering health and wellbeing services. 7 This approach fits with current international trends to promote integrated health and social care and to use health services to address the social determinants of health. Nonetheless, the devil is in the detail. Tenbensel highlights the challenges that need to addressed if localities are to be more than a set of good intentions: funding flows and structures that work; building successful partnership and collaboration in localities; health sector managers and primary care providers will need to think and act differently.The health reforms are also highly relevant to the findings of two original scientific papers in this issue on rural health. Blattner and colleagues surveyed rural hospital leaders on their perspectives of the place and contribution of rural hospitals in the NZ health system. 8 In short, rural hospitals do not fit neatly into the new Tier 1 (home and community services) nor Tier 2 (hospital, specialist and diagnostic services) categories of NZ health service provision. 9 Walker and colleagues, in their scopi...

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The allied health workforce of rural Aotearoa New Zealand: a scoping review

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

What does it mean to be an allied health professional working in rural Aotearoa New Zealand? A qualitative study

What does it mean to be an allied health professional working in rural Aotearoa New Zealand? A qualitative study

From Identity to Ambugity: Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration Opportunities for Pharmacists in Rural and Remote Australia

New Zealand’s health system reforms: an uncertain road paved with good intentions?

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