Access & equity in the provision of primary health care services in rural and remote Australia

APHCRI Conversations was a regular program of presentations held at the Department of Health to facilitate exchange between APHCRI Network researchers and Department policymakers. Topics are developed jointly with the Department of Health and involve a range of speakers from APHCRI, including CRE invited experts, CRE Chief Investigators and stream project Chief Investigator

Geological and mineral economic evaluation and assessment of the Permian Karoo Supergroup coal assets owned by Eyesizwe Coal (Pty) Ltd, a Black empowerment company, South Africa

D.Phil. (Geology)Please refer to full text to view abstrac

An evaluation of the Australian Football League Central Australian Responsible Alcohol Strategy 2005-07

In a community context of high alcohol consumption and high rates of interpersonal violence, the strategies implemented were successful in decreasing alcohol consumption and related undesirable behaviours at football games. However, these measures have resulted in unintended consequences: decreased numbers of spectators attending games, decreased canteen sales and falling sponsorship. The decreased revenue has raised serious issues about sustainability of the alcohol intervention, and stimulated discussions with government and others about strategies to maintain this important alcohol reduction policy

A realist case study of a regional hospital\u27s response to improve emergency department access in the context of Australian healthcare reforms

Introduction: Major health-care reforms have extended across all Australian public hospitals in recent years. Improving emergency department (ED) access has been a focus of these reforms.Objective: This study evaluates how the national reforms have led to improvement in ED access in a regional hospital in remote Australia.Methods: Assessing a complex scenario such as national reforms and the challenges faced by the regional hospital to implement these reforms requires in-depth analysis. A realist evaluation theory-based approach was employed, allowing investigation of what, how, why, and for whom change occurred. A case study mixed methods design was adopted within the realist framework to answer these questions about change.Results and Conclusion: The study identified moderate improvement in ED access as a result of the reforms (investment in infrastructure and workforce and the introduction of ED targets). Clinical leadership and support from management were essential for the improvement. Without ongoing investment and clinical redesign activities, however, sustainability of the improvement may prove difficult

New money for mental health : will it make things better for rural and remote Australia?

New Australian government funding for the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative is a significant step forward for mental health, with general practitioners now able to offer direct referrals to psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. Incentives for better teamwork between GPs and other mental health professionals have been introduced, but may have unintended consequences, including an exacerbation of workforce shortages in rural and remote areas. Possible solutions to these shortages include rural scholarships for students in the mental health professions; recruitment and retention of students coordinated by university departments of rural health; better access to continuing professional development; and federally funded rural positions and additional financial incentives for rural mental health practitioners.<br /

Overcoming access and equity problems relating to primary health care services in rural and remote Australia

The research program of the CRERRPHC aimed to better understand key access and equity issues relating to the provision of appropriate, effective and high quality primary health care services in rural and remote communities of Australia.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Strategy

Collaborative review of pilot projects to inform policy: A methodological remedy for pilotitis?

BACKGROUND In rural health and other health service development contexts, there is frustration with a reliance on pilot projects as a means of informing policy and service innovation. There is also an emerging recognition that existing research methods do not draw lessons from the failed sustainability that characterises many of these pilots and demonstration projects. DISCUSSION: This article describes critical aspects of the methodology of a successful collaborative, multi-method, systematic synthesis of exemplary primary health care pilot projects in rural and remote Australia, which synthesised principles from a number of pilot projects to inform policy makers and planners. Hallmarks of the method were: the nature of the source materials for the research, the subsequent research engagement with the actual pilot projects, the extent of collaboration throughout the study with end-users from policy and planning arenas, and the attention to procedural quality. SUMMARY: The methodology, while time consuming, has resulted in applied, policy-relevant findings, and evidence of consideration by policy-makers