New rural health research is calling for a major shift in how disability policy is shaped in Australia, with a clear message that place matters. A recently published book chapter co-authored by UCRH researcher Jodie Bailie argues that policies work best when they are grounded in the lived realities of rural communities.
The chapter, titled Re-imagining policymaking with rural people with disability in Australia, appears in A Research Agenda for Lived Experience and Disability Policy. It explores why people with disability living in regional, rural and remote areas continue to experience poorer health and quality of life, despite decades of policy effort.
The authors highlight two overlapping challenges. Rural communities have less access to health and support services than cities, and people with disability are more likely to live with chronic ill health. When these factors combine, the impact on everyday life can be profound, affecting access to care, independence and wellbeing.
Rather than treating policy as something done to communities, the chapter makes a strong case for doing policy with them. It examines why past approaches have often failed to reflect rural ways of living and working, even when co-design is used. The chapter then sets out a new direction, arguing that policymaking should be led by rural people with disability themselves.
A key idea explored is rural proofing. This approach supports communities to identify their own strengths, define problems that matter locally, and shape solutions that can influence both local and national policy.
The chapter adds to growing evidence that authentic, place-based policymaking is essential for improving health equity and quality of life for rural Australians with disability.
