Profile
position: Professorial Research Fellow
department: Research Division
Australia
Professor Desley Hegney is a Professor of Nursing at the Research Division, Central Queensland University, Brisbane Campus She was the inaugural President of the Association for Australian Rural Nurses and was the inaugural Editor of the Australian Journal of Rural Health (1992 - 2002). Her research has concentrated on nursing workforce issues in primary health care including the first published research on the role and function of the rural nurse in Australia. She is extensively published in rural nursing workforce issues, compassion fatigue and resilience. She has also undertaken research into the role of the registered and enrolled nurse employed in general practice.
Other research into health service delivery models in rural Australia have included the effectiveness of a community health nurse in the ED to prevent re-presentations of elderly patients; infant feeding support services in rural Queensland; the effectiveness of an outreach palliative care service in rural Queensland; and the use of a triage tool to standardise triage assessment by nurses in the ED.
Articles contributed to by this person
Original Research 17 September 2009
Accommodation needs for carers of and adults with intellectual disability in regional Australia: their hopes for and perceptions of the future
Original Research 22 October 2007
Individual resilience in rural people: a Queensland study, Australia
Original Research 20 July 2007
Gender and personal breastfeeding experience of rural GP registrars in Australia - a qualitative study of their effect on breastfeeding attitudes and knowledge
Original Research 22 February 2006
SEAM - improving the quality of palliative care in regional Toowoomba, Australia: lessons learned
Original Research 24 June 2004
General practitioners' perceptions of after hours primary medical care services: a Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia study
Project Report 27 April 2004
Planning research in rural and remote areas
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Pilot study of a cognitive behavioral therapy skills intervention for rural adults
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Transitioning to rural practice together: a rural fellowship model (in 6 Ps)
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NRHA 36th Rural Health Policy Institute, 11–13 February 2025, Washington, DC, USA
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RWAV Conference 2025: Dreaming Big and Driving Change in Rural Healthcare, 19–21 February 2025, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
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2025 European Forum on Prevention and Primary Care, 5 & 6 March 2025, Zagreb, Croatia
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WONCA South Asia Region Conference 2025, 4–6 April 2025, Bengaluru, India
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WONCA Asia Pacific Region Conference 2025: Primary Care Transformation; Implementing High-value, High-quality Care!, 24–27 April 2025, Busan Korea
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9th European Young Family Doctors' Movement (EYFDM Forum), 25–27 April 2025, Grande Région
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National Rural Health Conference 2025, 2–3 May 2025, Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand
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NRHA 30th Health Equity Conference, 19–20 May 2025, Atlanta, GA, USA
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NRHA 48th Annual Rural Health Conference, 20–23 May 2025, Atlanta, GA, USA
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2025 International Rural Nursing Conference, 27–30 May 2025, Arlington, TX, USA
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BC Rural Health Conference 2025, 6–8 June 2025, Prince George, BC, Canada
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4th International Indigenous Health & Wellbeing Conference 2025, 16–19 June 2025, Adelaide Convention Centre, Kaurna Country, Australia
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14th EURIPA Rural Health Forum. Rural Reformation: Meeting Wellbeing and Healthcare Needs in Rural Communities, 26–28 June 2025, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
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Rethinking Remote 2025: Scotland's Rural Health Conference
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WONCA World Conference 2025: New Vision for Primary Health Care and Sustainable Development, 17–21 September 2025, Lisbon, Portugal
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NRHA 23rd Rural Health Clinic Conference, 23–24 September 2025, Kansas, MO, USA
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Rural Mental Health Conference 2025 (RMHC25), 5–7 November 2025, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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4th EURACT Medical Education Conference, 23–25 April 2026, Iasi, Romania
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9th WONCA Africa Region Conference 2026, 10 & 11 September 2026, Gaborone, Botswana
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18th National Rural Health Conference, 14–17 September 2026, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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