Improving primary health care workforce retention in small rural and remote communities: how important is ongoing education and training?

Improving primary health care workforce retention in small rural and remote communities: how important is ongoing education and training? Report

• Author(s): Humphreys, John, Wakerman, John, Wells, Robert, Kuipers, Pim, Jones, Judith, Entwistle, Philip, Harvey, Pam
• Published: 2007
• Publisher: Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, School of Rural Health Monash University, Centre for Remote Health Flinders and Charles Darwin universities, Menzies Centre for Health Policy

Link to resource Report broken link

Abstract: Many small communities throughout rural and remote Australia experience a shortage of health workers, high levels of staff turnover, and significant problems in recruiting new health workers. In order to ensure the provision of appropriate, high quality, accessible primary health care services to residents of small geographically dispersed communities, the need to retain competent and confident health workers once recruited is particularly important. Rapid changes characterising the health industry, combined with the challenges and complexities of rural and remote practice, require a well-qualified workforce to meet their roles and responsibilities. Previous research investigating sustainable rural and remote health services auspiced by the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI) suggested an association between workforce retention and the availability of ongoing education and training, such that the provision of effective continuing professional development may lower turnover rates of health workers in small rural and remote communities. At the same time, anecdotal evidence suggests that increasing demands on service delivery have resulted in reduced time available for Continuing Professional Development or Continuing Professional Education (CPD/CPE) activity in many rural and remote services and less support from service providers in relation to staff needs. This study examines the role and contribution of continuing professional development in enhancing workplace attractiveness and improving retention of primary health workers in small rural and remote communities. In particular, it examines how important education and training is to increasing workforce retention relative to other factors, the best way of providing effective education and training to rural and remote primary health care workers, and evaluates the costs and benefits associated with providing such education and training.

• Urls: https://rsph.anu.edu.au/files/humphreys_25_final_pdf_23410.pdf