"To do this job you have to have the heart for it": What would optimise current practice to support the best outcomes for country people living with multiple and complex needs?

This investigation of good practice for working with people with multiple and complex needs in country settings is part of a larger suite of research. It is the tenth output of a partnership between Uniting Country SA (UCSA) and the research team at the Centre for Social Impact, Flinders University. That body of work exists under the umbrella title of Hearing Country Voices, and it is an ongoing commitment to evidence informed practice which aligns with UCSA’s vision of just communities where all people flourish. ‘Evidence’, in the context of Hearing Country Voices, is allied to the principle of justice in UCSA’s vision statement: the central value in this research is equity, and equity is about balancing the scales. It is about listening to and amplifying the voice of people and communities who are experts in their own lives, but who are often done to and seldom listened to. The contribution of our research is to ensure that people whose lives are affected by service and policy decisions, and workers who walk alongside them, have their voices and expertise articulated and elevated in the field of evidence claims behind those decisions.