Rural Health - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 32
-
ItemDo Not "Let Them Eat Cake": Correlation of Food-Consumption Patterns among Rural Primary School Children from Welfare and Non-Welfare Households(MDPI, 2017-01)Physical and financial access impacts food choice and consumption, while educational attainment, employment, income, gender, and socioeconomic status are also influential. Within this context, the aim of the paper is to examine the association between various foods consumed and eating patterns of children between low and higher income households. A paper-based survey was completed by parents/carers of children in 41 primary schools in rural and regional areas of Victoria. Data collected included demographics and the consumption of fruit, vegetable, and other foods including drinks. Ordinal data were analysed using Spearman's rank-order correlation. The main findings were that children who consumed more fruit and vegetables tended to have a higher intake of healthy drinks (plain milk and water) as well as a lower intake of unhealthy snacks and drinks (sugar sweetened drinks). Those who perceived that fruit and vegetables cost too much reported greater consumption of unhealthy snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages, which was more prominent in low-income households. Changing food consumption behaviours requires a complex systems-based approach that addresses more than just individual issues variables. A participatory approach that works with local communities and seeks to build an understanding of unique challenges within sub-groups has potential for embedding long-lasting and meaningful change in eating behaviours.
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableStrategic English Learning and Proficiency among Vietnamese Tertiary Learners: Beyond Passive Stereotypes(Common Ground Research Networks, 2017)Practitioners and researchers worldwide have enthusiastically undertaken research on language learning strategies (LLS) since the early 1970s. They have since established solid evidence on LLS as an influential factor in determining success in second/foreign language learning. However, in the context of Vietnam, there is a dearth of evidence regarding LLS and successful second/foreign language learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and pattern of LLS use among Vietnamese students undertaking English as a foreign language (EFL) at the tertiary (university) level. Secondly, it sought to investigate the relationship between LLS use and self-rated English proficiency. Quantitative data were collected from 564 students through a researcher-generated questionnaire, the English Language Learning Strategy Questionnaire (ELLSQ), which had been pretested to ensure validity and reliability. Findings revealed that the students were moderate users of learning strategies, and frequency of strategy use was positively correlated with self-reported English proficiency.
-
ItemCommunity assets and capabilities to recruit and retain GPs: the Community Apgar Questionnaire in rural Victoria(AUSTRALIAN RURAL HEALTH EDUC NETWORK, 2016)INTRODUCTION: Rural communities continue to experience significant challenges recruiting and retaining physicians. The Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed in Idaho in the USA to comprehensively assess the characteristics associated with successful recruitment and retention of rural physicians. The CAQ has been utilised and validated across the USA; however, its value in rural Australia has not been examined. The objective of this study was to use the CAQ in rural Australia to examine its utility and develop a greater understanding of the community factors that impact general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention. METHOD: The project conducted structured face-to-face interviews with hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) and directors of clinical services (DCSs) from 14 of the 21 (76%) health services that agreed to participate in rural north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The interviews were undertaken to complete the CAQ, which contains 50 questions centred on factors that influence physician recruitment and retention. Once completed, CAQs were scored by assigning quantitative values to a community's strengths and challenges including the level of importance placed on each factor. As such, the most important factors in physician recruitment, whether they are advantages or challenges for that community, were then weighed for their relative importance. Scores were then combined to create a CAQ score. To ensure reliability and validity of the results, three additional CAQs were purposefully administered to key general practices within the region. RESULTS: The 14 rural communities exhibited cumulative CAQ scores ranging from a high of 387 to a low score of 61. This suggests the tool was sensitive enough to differentiate between communities that were high and low performers in terms of physician recruitment. The groups of factors that had the greatest impact on recruitment and retention were ranked highest to lowest and included medical support, hospital/community support, economic, scope of practice and geographic factors. Overall, the highest individual factors to impact recruitment and retention were perception of quality, hospital leadership, nursing workforce and transfer arrangements. Conversely, the lowest factors and challenges to recruitment and retention were family related, specifically spousal satisfaction and access to schools. CONCLUSIONS: Hume, in rural Victoria, was the first international site to implement the CAQ to differentially diagnose a community's relative strengths and challenges in recruiting and retaining GPs, while supporting health facilities to prioritise achievable goals to improve long-term retention strategies. It provided each community with a tailored gap analysis, while confidentially sharing best practices of other health facilities. Within Hume, open communication and trust between GPs and health facility leadership and nursing staff ensures that GPs can feel valued and supported. Possible solutions for GP recruitment and retention must consider the social, employment and educational opportunities that are available for spouses and children. Participation in the program was useful as it helped health facilities ascertain how they were performing while highlighting areas for improvement.
-
ItemIntegrated and consumer-directed care: a necessary paradigm shift for rural chronic ill health(CSIRO PUBLISHING, 2016)Chronic ill health has recently emerged as the most important health issue on a global scale. Rural communities are disproportionally affected by chronic ill health. Many health systems are centred on the management of acute conditions and are often poorly equipped to deal with chronic ill health. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most prominent chronic ill health conditions and the principal cause of mortality worldwide. In this paper, CVD is used as an example to demonstrate the disparity between rural and urban experience of chronic ill health, access to medical care and clinical outcomes. Advances have been made to address chronic ill health through improving self-management strategies, health literacy and access to medical services. However, given the higher incidence of chronic health conditions and poorer clinical outcomes in rural communities, it is imperative that integrated health care emphasises greater collaboration between services. It is also vital that rural GPs are better supported to work with their patients, and that they use consumer-directed approaches to empower patients to direct and coordinate their own care.
-
ItemAn evaluation of a primary school service learning model among health students(The University of Melbourne, 2016)
-
ItemCurrent Programs and Future Needs in Health Literacy for Older People: A Literature Review(Informa UK Limited, 2013-10-01)
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableVocabulary teaching, learning and as a social practice(Nova Science Publishers, 2015-07)Vocabulary is an essential item in language teaching and learning, although sometimes it is neglected. In order to produce an effective vocabulary teaching and learning, instructors and learners must understand the background of vocabulary including breath, depth and word knowledge. Some effective strategies are introduced to make vocabulary learning more attractive and interesting for learners. Inevitably, vocabulary teaching and learning is not only a method and instrument, but also interpreted as social practice from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) perspective, which involves the discourse of social control, trust and meaning making. These three discourses should be taken into consideration as they may influence the vocabulary teaching and learning outcome.
-
ItemThe Anglo-Celtic construction of national identity in Australia and the acculturation of the ‘other’ doctors(Australian Multicultural Interaction Institute, 2015)
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableRural Community Nurses: Insights into Health Workforce and Health Service Needs in Tasmania(Common Ground Research Networks, 2015)
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableLanguage, ideology and identity: Education implications for Afghanistan(Nova Science Publishers, 2015-07)War and conflict have been widespread in Afghanistan for more than three decades with insurmountable atrocities, human suffering and population displacement. Over one and half million Afghans have died and eight million have become refugees or internally displaced people because of conflict. Afghans continue to be the world’s largest refugee population, the majority being women, children and the elderly. The political and socio-cultural background to the conflict and how it has influenced population displacement throughout the region will be outlined in detail. The psychosocial ad psychological effects of trauma will be discussed, including how these situations impact both male and female Afghanis. The examination will discuss young male refugees, a vulnerable population who are recruited and trained as resistance fighters to further expand Jihad and maintain control of Afghanistan. The examination will also identify an increase in post war antagonism, domestic violence and domination of women within Afghan communities. Overall, the chapter will discuss how lingering and new world ideologies are impacted by education, language and identity. The discussion will conclude with recommendations for policy, practice and interventions to effectively respond to the educational needs of those who remain physically and psychologically displaced by conflict and those who now live in post war Afghanistan.