Recruitment and retention of the allied health workforce in rural and remote Australia: a scoping review

Early Abstract:

Introduction: Australians in rural and remote areas have poorer health and welfare outcomes urban populations. These people are reliant upon a consistent workforce to service the population. However, attracting and maintaining a health professional workforce in rural Australia has been a well-documented ongoing issue. There is a need for research that explicitly investigates the allied health workforce, which has unique and differing factors that impact their recruitment and retention compared to medical and nursing personnel.
Methods: A scoping review methodology was utilised to investigate the research question: How does the current literature identify, describe and address workforce recruitment and retention issues for allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia? Utilising the PRISMA-ScR guidelines for conducting a scoping review, 14 databases (Ovid Medline ®, Ovid Embase, Ovid EmCare, AMED, APA PsychINF, Ovid Medline ALL, Scopus, CINAHL Complete, Dissertations & Theses Global, Nursing & Allied Health, Rural & Remote Health database, Health Collection, ATSI-Health, and Open Access Theses And Dissertations) and the grey literature was systematically searched for sources published between 2013 and 2024, with four key concepts utilised as search terms. The Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool was used to review the quality of the literature, and a narrative synthesis approach was utilised to collate and summarise the data.
Results: A total of 11,165 sources were extracted from the database search, with title and abstract screening completed on 4,441 sources. Following full-text review, 60 sources were included in the review, 45 of which were peer-reviewed. Sources included research articles (n=27), reports (n=9), review articles (n=5), conference documents (n=3), web pages and online magazine pieces (n=8) and other sources (n=8). Qualitative studies were the most used (n=11) study design and 22 sources generally referred to allied health professions without specifying which discipline. Of the specified allied health professionals across sources, physiotherapy was the most studied profession (n=16), with occupational therapy (n=11) and psychology (n=9) following this. The narrative synthesis yielded seven key themes: Workforce: Opportunities, facilitators and challenges; Rural health career: Professional and personal identity; Workplace and professional role: Demands, benefits and opportunities; Community and family: Support, care and connectedness; and Connection, Commitment and Collaboration.
Conclusion: The information obtained by the scoping review highlights the opportunities, facilitators, and challenges that affect the allied health workforce. It informs recommendations for professionals, organisations, communities, and policymakers to build upon the sector's strengths and resources and presents a range of innovative strategies being trialled and implemented by the allied health workforce.
Keywords: allied health, Australia, employment, recruitment, remote health, retention, rural health, workforce.