Australians living in rural and remote areas face more health issues compared to those in cities, and they also have less access to essential health services. Factors like socioeconomic status (SES) and shortages in the health workforce play a big role in this disparity.
A recent study looked at data from various sources to understand how SES and the availability of health workers are linked in non-metropolitan areas. Former UCRH Director, Professor Ross Bailie is one of the authors of the study which has just been published.
The study found that areas with higher SES were more likely to have a shortage of nurses and midwives. However, there was no significant link between SES and the availability of doctors or allied health workers.
Interestingly, very remote areas were less likely to have a shortage of allied health professionals and nurses compared to inner regional areas. This suggests that policies targeting areas based on SES might have helped improve the availability of nurses and midwives, but not as much for doctors or allied health professionals.
The study highlights the need for more research to understand how well these workforce policies are working and to find better ways to address health service gaps in rural and remote areas.
