The rural allied health workforce study (RAHWS): background, rationale and questionnaire development

Sheila Keane

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Lead investigator, devised survey tool, literature review, wrote the first draft

position: Senior lecturer in allied heatlh

Australia

Research interests: * Rural Allied Health Workforce * Service Innovation: Therapy Assistants, Extended Scope of Clinical Practice * Stroke Rehabilitation * Treatment of Hemi-spatial Neglect

A/Prof Tony Smith

qualifications: PhD

position: Senior lecturer in medical radiation science

Australia

I am a radiographer/academic and Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health. I am based in Taree on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast, where I look after undergrad and postgrad students, organise continuing education for clinical colleagues and research rural health and interprofessional workforce issues. I am interested in interprofessional boundaries in rural health care delivery and their effect on service quality and efficiency. The topic of my PhD, which I completed in 2006, was the role of nurse and GP limited license x-ray operators in remote and rural NSW. It was a qualitative study using in-depth interviews of rural radiographers, rural nurses and rural GPs about their experiences and perceptions surrounding limited x-ray licensing of non-radiographers. I also have extensive cross-disciplinary teaching experience in this field. This has led me to explore issues of rural health professional practice and workforce planning. My current area of interest is the boundaries that exist betwwen health professionals in rural practice.

Michelle Lincoln

qualifications: PhD

position: Associate professor in speech pathology

Australia

Associate Professor Michelle Lincoln is Head of Discipline of Speech Pathology at The University of Sydney. Michelle has a research interest in rural allied health workforce issues and clinical education

Scott Wagner

qualifications: GradDip Nutrition and Dietetics

position: Chief executive officer

Australia

Shelagh Lowe

qualifications: GradDip Physiotherapy

position: Associate lecturer rural allied health

Australia

Allied health specifically, health workforce, rural and remote health, primary health care, health policy, health reform, leadership