Reasons why specialist doctors undertake rural outreach services: an Australian cross-sectional study

Human Resources for Health

Research

Johannes U. Stoelwinder¹  Matthew R. McGrail²  Belinda G. O’Sullivan³ 

[1] Division of Health Services and Global Health Research, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 3004, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;Monash Rural Health, Northways Road, 3842, Churchill, Victoria, Australia;Monash Rural Health, Office of Research, PO Box 666, Level 3, 26 Mercy St, 3550, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia;

关键词: Specialist doctor;    Outreach;    Reasons;    Services;    Rural;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12960-016-0174-z

 received in 2016-05-26, accepted in 2016-12-06,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe purpose of the study is to explore the reasons why specialist doctors travel to provide regular rural outreach services, and whether reasons relate to (1) salaried or private fee-for-service practice and (2) providing rural outreach services in more remote locations.MethodsA national cross-sectional study of specialist doctors from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) survey in 2014 was implemented. Specialists providing rural outreach services self-reported on a 5-point scale their level of agreement with five reasons for participating. Chi-squared analysis tested association between agreement and variables of interest.ResultsOf 567 specialists undertaking rural outreach services, reasons for participating include to grow the practice (54%), maintain a regional connection (26%), provide complex healthcare (18%), healthcare for disadvantaged people (12%) and support rural staff (6%). Salaried specialists more commonly participated to grow the practice compared with specialists in fee-for-service practice (68 vs 49%). This reason was also related to travelling further and providing outreach services in outer regional/remote locations. Private fee-for-service specialists more commonly undertook outreach services to provide complex healthcare (22 vs 14%).ConclusionsSpecialist doctors undertake rural outreach services for a range of reasons, mainly to complement the growth and diversity of their main practice or maintain a regional connection. Structuring rural outreach around the specialist’s main practice is likely to support participation and improve service distribution.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017