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Results for “Rural Health Services”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

What do we mean by sustainable rural health services? Implications for rural health research.

The concept of health service sustainability, endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers as a key dimension of the National Performance Framework, is particularly important in rural and remote communities. To date, however, few Australian studies have demonstrated how the real drivers of sustainability inter-relate or are translated into sustainable rural and remote health services. This article highlights the need for a systemic approach in which the integrated nature of sustainability components are recognised and evaluated in terms of access to rural and remote health services, quality of care and cost of provision.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

Integrated pathways for managing rural health services.

Rural providers must redefine their role in the changing health care system to include a more integrated approach to health care delivery. The rural provider must develop integrated pathways to coordinate all medical, behavior, and social services to ensure that appropriate services are available, locally or through linkages with other providers, for the population. The integrated pathway must manage care across the continuum of services and coordinate decisions occurring at the point of service.

Community-Institutional Relations↗
PubMed2002

Rural health research and rural health in the 21st century: the future of rural health and the future of rural health services research.

Rural health research is a unique field. It is neither a nested subcategory under general health services research nor a separate field of policy analysis or advocacy. Rural health research faces three potential crises: of content, of applicability, and of credibility. The content of the field is driven often by funds, its applicability is thus limited by its purview as well as its special constituency, and its credibility is challenged by its findings, sometimes contrary to accepted positions in the larger health services field. Rural health research can strengthen its position by accepting the paradoxes it presents, especially the paradox of continuing disparity in the face of substantial investment to eliminate differences, and by seeking to answer why this occurs across the rural-urban spectrum. Rural health research can answer questions about why the distribution of resources is unfair without depending solely on pure definitions

Forecasting↗
PubMed1977

A controlled trial of the impact of the family practice nurse on volume, quality, and cost of rural health services.

Rural Newfoundland communities with and without expanded role nurses were compared on a before and after basis. The rural communities are located in a geographically isolated area served by a 40-bed hospital staffed by salaried physicians. Primary care visits within the community increased by 186 per cent after establishment of the family practice nurse community clinic and attendance at the hospital decreased by 35 per cent. Acute care days in hospital decreased 5 per cent in the experimental group and increased by 39 per cent in the control group. A major portion of the community based visits provided to the experimental group were classed as preventive. The total annual health service cost per 1,000 persons in the experimental group increased slightly more than in the control group (26 versus 21 per cent). Adequate management of certain indicator conditions and drugs was maintained by the family practice nurse when compared to the adequacy rating for the physician during the same time period.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed2001

Rural training and the state of rural health services: effect of rural background on the perception and attitude of first-year medical students at the university of melbourne.

The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between medical students' background and their perception of the state of rural health services; willingness to undertake internship training or work as a doctor in a rural hospital; expected benefits and disadvantages of training or working as a doctor in a rural hospital; and factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas. A questionnaire-based survey was distributed to 100 first-year medical students attending the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne at the end of semester 1. The response rate was 97%, including 44 males and 53 females. A strong relationship was found between rural background and an intention to undertake internship training in a rural hospital (86% of students from a rural background expressed this desire vs 30% of students from an urban background). Furthermore, all students from a rural background expressed a desire to work as a doctor in a rural hospital after completing postgraduate training. Compared to urban students, students from a rural background showed a more positive attitude towards health services in rural areas including public hospitals ( P = 0.02), private general practice ( P = 0.004), ambulance service ( P = 0.0002) and baby health centres ( P = 0.005). Citizenship or gender was not significantly related to the perception of any of these services. The ranking of factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas were different for rural and urban students. Students from rural backgrounds reported spouse/partner needs (76% vs 49%, P = 0.038) and school availability for children (59% vs 30%, P = 0.023) as barriers more frequently than urban students, respectively). On the other hand, urban students rated the following factors higher: personal factors (76% vs 53%, respectively), education opportunities (56% vs 24%), social/cultural facilities (50% vs 41%) and the need for frequent travel (29% vs 12%). None of these interfering factors were significantly different. Urban students were more likely than rural students to report that their views were a result of adverse media reports. In conclusion, students from a rural background were more willing to be trained or to work as doctors in rural areas. This was associated with a greater adverse influence by the media upon students.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed1994

User charges for rural health services in Papua New Guinea.

This paper reports on a review of user charges for health services in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. Facilities implementing both fee for service and community risk sharing schemes were studied. This study found that there is a lack of any policy framework or practical guidelines on cost recovery. In some areas fees are being used as a fiscal tool rather than to further health policy. This study from Papua New Guinea raises serious questions about the virtue of cost recovery for health services in rural areas. Equity is an issue and the fees are creating a barrier both for entry and continuation in the health system; accountability is poor, and issues of cross subsidization are not addressed; fee revenues from rural health services are small and primarily of local significance; and are not being used to improve quality of health services. Cost recovery schemes in rural areas have the potential to provide a valuable contributory source of income to operate and improve health services. In practice, few are achieving this. It is concluded that health sector financing focus could be more fruitfully directed to financing mechanisms with greater potential to improve and expand health services.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1991

Perceptions of community leaders and the merger of rural health services.

The merger of rural primary care and home health services offers the potential of increasing the administrative efficiency of health care, and thereby enhancing quality of care and increasing access to services, particularly health promotion. In a merger of rural health services in Northeastern Vermont, a survey of key community leaders revealed that improved organization of services, improved health status and greater accessibility of services were benefits expected and to some extent realized as a result of the merger process. The desire to preserve community-based services and having a common philosophy were important factors which served to initiate the merger. The actions of a few key individuals and the support of involved organizations were instrumental in continuing the process.

Community Participation↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of governmental dental health services in rural health centers in Egypt.

The aim of the study was to identify and evaluate the existing utility of rural oral health services after 20 yr of implementing the compulsory law of rural health services in Egypt. Six out of 26 governorates present in Egypt were selected. Ten rural health centers from each governorate were visited. A review from each center was performed about the demographic features of the village, the dental manpower and type and condition of dental equipment. The existing records of the dental treatment performed per year from July 1980 to June 1981 were recorded. The general findings revealed that only 31% of rural health centers of the selected governorates had dental facilities. The demand for dental treatments in these centers varied between the six governorates and ranged between 12% in Alexandria to 1% in Dakahlia of the population. Most of the treatments performed were extractions (52.52%), while conservative treatments were minimal (0.85%). Prosthetic treatments were not available in these centers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The cost of rural health services in Papua New Guinea.

In 1988 a countrywide study was conducted on the costs of rural health services in Papua New Guinea. 16% of all health centres and subcentres were surveyed. Information was collected on physical facilities, recurrent costs, staff time allocation, service outputs and quality of services. Wide variation was found in the costs of rural health facilities overall, and significant differences were found between the costs and outputs of health centres and subcentres. Average levels of service output were found to be similar at church and government facilities but average levels of utilization by the population were higher at church facilities. Despite government policy on extension of preventive health care, a strong emphasis was found on curative care. Many facilities were found to have significant excess bed capacity. Recurrent financing for transportation and maintenance was found to be inadequate.

Cost Allocation↗
PubMed2005

Access to rural health services: research as community action and policy critique.

Although access to rural health services has been an enduring focus for a variety of scholars, little has been recorded about the intersection between health service policy, provision and access experiences. This paper identifies how community action can highlight the gaps between policy rhetoric and access experiences. Taking the case of rural New Zealand, we document how a community organisation Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) completed a national survey as a form of community action. This study records rural households' experiences and challenges when accessing both primary and secondary health services. A range of access problems is identified. The study also illustrates how community-based activism concerning health care need not be local or single-service focussed, but can involve a multi-service critique at the national scale. Such work highlights not only the experience but also the complexity and politics of health service access.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Assuring access to rural health services: the case for revitalizing small rural hospitals.

Many small rural hospitals play a critical role in assuring access to basic health care services, and it is in the public interest for these hospitals to receive the necessary support to revitalize their capabilities, especially with the growing challenges of rural acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), rural drug problems, an aging population, and a growing number of uninsured and underinsured rural residents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗