Experiences of working as early career allied health professionals and doctors in rural and remote environments: a qualitative systematic review protocol

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to investigate the experiences of working as an early career allied health professional or doctor, and the factors that influence this experience in rural or remote environments. INTRODUCTION: Recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural and remote areas is challenging, with a range of strategies used to attract and retain them, which vary by profession and jurisdiction. Workforce recommendations are often based on the collective experience of all health professions. This review will explore the experiences of early career allied health professionals and doctors and compare and synthesize the evidence in order to better understand the individual and collective factors to generate relevant recommendations. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider qualitative studies that include early career allied health professionals' or doctors' experiences of working in rural or remote areas and the personal and professional factors that impact on this experience. METHODS: CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Informit, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Google Scholar, and WorldWideScience.org will be searched to identify published and unpublished studies. Studies published since 2000 in English will be considered for the review. Identified studies will be screened for inclusion in the review by two independent reviewers. Studies for inclusion will be critically appraised by two independent reviewers. Data will be extracted using a standardized tool and reviewers will discuss any disagreements. Data synthesis will adhere to the meta-aggregative approach to categorize findings. The categories will be synthesized into synthesized findings that can be applied as evidence-based recommendations. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42021223187.