Rural Clinical School
Permanent URI for this community
Browse
Browsing Rural Clinical School by Author "Bourke, L."
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Metadata only Charting the future course of rural health and remote health in Australia: Why we need theory(Blackwell Publishing, 2010) Bourke, L.; Humphreys, J.; Wakerman, J.; Taylor, J.Objective
This paper argues that rural and remote health is in need of theoretical development.Design
Based on the authors' discussions, reflections and critical analyses of literature, this paper proposes key reasons why rural and remote health warrants the development of theoretical frameworks.Results
The paper cites five reasons why theory is needed: (i) theory provides an approach for how a topic is studied; (ii) theory articulates key assumptions in knowledge development; (iii) theory systematises knowledge, enabling it to be transferable; (iv) theory provides predictability; and (v) theory enables comprehensive understanding.Conclusion
This paper concludes with a call for theoretical development in both rural and remote health to expand its knowledge and be more relevant to improving health care for rural Australians.Item Metadata only From 'problem-describing' to 'problem-solving': Challenging the 'deficit' view of remote and rural health(Blackwell Publishing, 2010) Bourke, L.; Humphreys, J.; Wakerman, J.; Taylor, J.Objective
Rural and remote health research has highlighted the many problems experienced in the bush. While attention to problems has raised awareness of the needs of rural and remote health, embedding a deficit perspective in research has stereotyped rural and remote health as poor environments to work in and as inherently problematic. The objectives of this paper are to challenge this thinking and suggest that a more balanced approach, acknowledging strengths, is beneficial.Design
This discussion identifies why the deficit approach is problematic, proposes a strengths-based approach and identifies some key strengths of rural and remote health.Results
This study suggests alternative ways of thinking about rural and remote practice, including the rewards of rural and remote practice, that rural and remote communities can act as change agents, that these disciplines actively address the social determinants of health, that rural and remote areas have many innovative primary health care services and activities and that rural and remote contexts provide opportunities for evaluation and research. It is proposed that rural and remote health can be viewed as problem-solving, thus dynamic and improving rather than as inherently problematic.Conclusion
Critical of a deficit approach to rural and remote health, this paper provides alternatives ways of thinking about these disciplines and recommends a problem-solving perspective of rural and remote health.Item Metadata only Understanding rural and remote health: a framework for analysis in Australia(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2012) Bourke, L.; Humphreys, J.; Wakerman, J.; Taylor, J.People living in rural and remote areas face challenges in accessing appropriate health services, many of which struggle to recruit and retain staff. While researchers have documented these issues in Australia and internationally, rural health remains reactive to current problems and lacks comprehensive understanding. This paper presents a conceptual framework that can be used to better understand specific rural and remote health situations. The framework consists of six key concepts: geographic isolation, the rural locale, local health responses, broader health systems, social structures and power. Viewed through Giddens' theory of structuration, the framework suggests that rural health is understood as spatial and social relations among local residents as well as the actions of local health professionals/consumers that are both enabled and constrained by broader health systems and social structures. The framework provides a range of stakeholders with a guide to understanding rural and remote health.