Research

Australians living in rural regions experience poorer access to healthcare, and poorer health outcomes than their metropolitan counterparts. We know that research in rural health issues can have a positive impact on health outcomes for rural Australians.  We know that the funding allocated to rural health research is not commensurate with the size of Australia’s rural population.  (Barclay et al., 2018) reported that

‘NHMRC funding for health research that specifically aimed to deliver health benefits to people who live in rural or remote Australia …. represented only 2.4% of total NHMRC research funding not categorised as Basic Science research in 2014’ .

This is very low given 30% of Australians live in rural / remote areas (AIHW).  The funding situation has not significantly changed in the past ten years.

Why?

This is a complex issue – but at its core is the fact that many clinicians working in rural and remote areas, who are at the interface and experience the real issues – do not have the time, the resources, or often the research skills required to undertake critical research that will provide evidence for change.

In addition to our goal of training students of rural origin who we train to work in rural communities, we are committed to supporting rural clinicians to undertake research.

Research in rural health will improve health outcomes for rural communities.

As a student – you can have an impact- and you can change this narrative. We ensure our medical students undertake a project within the rural community in which they are based for years 3 to 5 of their medical degree – to achieve positive, translational impact. Through our research, and our collaborative research community, we contribute to solutions that influence the healthcare outcomes for regional, rural and remote Australians.