South Australian Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway Evaluation: Phase 2 Report

Introduction
In 2019 the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway (AHRGP) was introduced in SA Health Regional Local Health Networks (LHNs) through the provision of Rural Health Workforce Strategy funding from the Government of South Australia. This was one of a range of projects funded by this strategy to improve workforce outcomes and the quality of health service provision in rural and remote areas.
The AHRGP is a post graduate training course for AHPs working in rural or remote areas designed to develop rural generalist specialist skills and knowledge. The AHRGP also includes an expectation for trainees to progress service improvement projects that utilise one or more nominated rural generalist
service strategies, have dedicated profession specific supervision, and have protected study time at work.
Aims
The aims of this research are to evaluate the impact of the AHRGP in regional LHNs and to explore rural and remote allied health workforce challenges and opportunities in South Australia (SA).
Methods
Flinders University was contracted by SA Health to formally evaluate the AHRGP implementation in SA. This research is utilising a mixed methods approach over four distinct phases. In December 2019, Flinders University completed phase 1 which explored the experiences of early career AHPs working in rural and remote areas and the early perceptions of the AHRGP from the perspective of the clinicians undertaking the training as well as their clinical supervisors, line managers, advanced clinical leads (ACLs), consumer representatives and the AHRGP project management team.