Abstract
BackgroundUneven distribution of the medical workforce is globally recognised, with widespread rural health workforce shortages. There has been substantial research on factors affecting recruitment and retention of rural doctors, but little has been done to establish the motives and conditions that encourage allied health professionals to practice rurally. This study aims to identify aspects of recruitment and retention of rural allied health professionals using qualitative methodology.MethodsSix focus groups were conducted across rural NSW and analysed thematically using a grounded theory approach. The thirty allied health professionals participating in the focus groups were purposively sampled to represent a range of geographic locations, allied health professions, gender, age, and public or private work sectors.ResultsFive major themes emerged: personal factors; workload and type of work; continuing professional development (CPD); the impact of management; and career progression. ‘Pull factors’ favouring rural practice included: attraction to rural lifestyle; married or having family in the area; low cost of living; rural origin; personal engagement in the community; advanced work roles; a broad variety of challenging clinical work; and making a difference. ‘Push factors’ discouraging rural practice included: lack of employment opportunities for spouses; perceived inadequate quality of secondary schools; age related issues (retirement, desire for younger peer social interaction, and intention to travel); limited opportunity for career advancement; unmanageable workloads; and inadequate access to CPD. Having competent clinical managers mitigated the general frustration with health service management related to inappropriate service models and insufficient or inequitably distributed resources. Failure to fill vacant positions was of particular concern and frustration with the lack of CPD access was strongly represented by informants.ConclusionsWhile personal factors affecting recruitment and retention of allied health study participants were similar to doctors, differences also existed. Allied health professionals were attracted by advanced work roles in a context of generalist practice. Access to CPD and inequitable resource distribution were strong ‘push’ factors in this group. Health policy based on the assumption of transferability between professions may be misguided.
Highlights
Uneven distribution of the medical workforce is globally recognised, with widespread rural health workforce shortages
While the 2010 WHO report on retention of the rural medical workforce makes a conditional recommendation to improve access to continuing professional development (CPD) [1], this study shows the primary importance of CPD access for allied health (AH) professionals and is consistent with the limited research literature exploring this topic in the AH professions [32,33]
This study suggests that type of work, CPD access, recognition and remuneration all contribute to career progression and that altruism motivates mature practitioners
Summary
Uneven distribution of the medical workforce is globally recognised, with widespread rural health workforce shortages. There has been substantial research on factors affecting recruitment and retention of rural doctors, but little has been done to establish the motives and conditions that encourage allied health professionals to practice rurally. The World Health Organisation reported that, while 50% of the population worldwide lives rurally, only 38% of nurses and 24% of the medical workforce practice rurally [1]. Considerable international research has shown that recruitment and retention of rural doctors is influenced by personal factors such as rural background, career intent and service orientation [6]. While the role of continuing professional education is less clear, [8] financial incentives, career opportunities and access to personal and professional support have featured as factors influencing retention of rural doctors [9]. A number of intervention strategies based on this body of evidence are being undertaken internationally to improve medical workforce distribution [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
