Abstract
Introduction
In 2019 The Government of South Australia’s Rural Health Workforce Strategy funded a range of projects to improve health workforce and service outcomes for rural and remote South Australians. This funding enabled SA Health regional Local Health Networks (LHNs) to introduce the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway (AHRGP) in South Australia.
The AHRGP is a post graduate training program for rural or remote allied health professionals (AHPs) designed to develop rural generalist specialist skills and knowledge. Rural generalist trainees have access to both dedicated profession specific supervision and quarantined study time at work. There is also an expectation that they will participate in service improvement projects related to rural generalist service strategies.
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
In 2019 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 and is focused on the first cohort of trainees in SA who commenced training from 2019-20. In 2021 a second AHRGP training cohort commenced in SA and is not included in this current study.
Phase 1 was completed in December 2019 exploring the early perceptions of the AHRGP. Phase 2 was completed in September 2020 exploring the outcomes and experiences of the AHRGP at the midpoint of the pathway for the 2019-2020 cohort.
Phase 3 (this report) was conducted between July 2021 and June 2022 and explores the final outcomes of the AHRGP from the perspectives of the 2019-20 trainee cohort, their clinical supervisors, line managers, ACLs, the project management team and consumer representatives. A cost benefit analysis data was also completed. Phase 4 will be completed in 2023 and will review the trainees’ perceptions of the pathway and long term impacts 6 months after completing the AHRGP.
In 2019 The Government of South Australia’s Rural Health Workforce Strategy funded a range of projects to improve health workforce and service outcomes for rural and remote South Australians. This funding enabled SA Health regional Local Health Networks (LHNs) to introduce the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway (AHRGP) in South Australia.
The AHRGP is a post graduate training program for rural or remote allied health professionals (AHPs) designed to develop rural generalist specialist skills and knowledge. Rural generalist trainees have access to both dedicated profession specific supervision and quarantined study time at work. There is also an expectation that they will participate in service improvement projects related to rural generalist service strategies.
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
In 2019 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 and is focused on the first cohort of trainees in SA who commenced training from 2019-20. In 2021 a second AHRGP training cohort commenced in SA and is not included in this current study.
Phase 1 was completed in December 2019 exploring the early perceptions of the AHRGP. Phase 2 was completed in September 2020 exploring the outcomes and experiences of the AHRGP at the midpoint of the pathway for the 2019-2020 cohort.
Phase 3 (this report) was conducted between July 2021 and June 2022 and explores the final outcomes of the AHRGP from the perspectives of the 2019-20 trainee cohort, their clinical supervisors, line managers, ACLs, the project management team and consumer representatives. A cost benefit analysis data was also completed. Phase 4 will be completed in 2023 and will review the trainees’ perceptions of the pathway and long term impacts 6 months after completing the AHRGP.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Government of South Australia |
| Commissioning body | Government of South Australia, Rural Health Workforce Strategy |
| Number of pages | 57 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2022 |
Keywords
- Rural Health Workforce Strategy
- South Australia
- Rural health
- Remote health