Professional practice and health service delivery in rural and remote contexts

  Order Description     1. Find one (or two) current journal article(s) on remote or rural health case studies in a particular area of interest in terms of health service delivery, (for example allied health professionals, community interventions, health promotion, nurses). Please go through the CDU Library's Search portal; 2. Read the material you have located; and identify the relevant factors within the Wakerman definition below: Remote Health is an emerging discipline with distinct sociological, historical and practice characteristics. Its practice in Australia is characterised by geographical, professional and, often, social isolation of practitioners; a strong multidisciplinary approach; overlapping and changing roles of team members; a relatively high degree of GP substitution; and practitioners requiring public health, emergency and extended clinical skills. These skills and remote health systems, need to be suited to working in a cross-cultural context; serving small, dispersed and often highly mobile populations; serving populations with relatively high health needs; a physical environment of climatic extremes; and a communications environment of rapid technological change (Wakerman 2004; Defining remote health; Aust. J. Rural Health (2004) 12, 210–214) The above mentioned definition describes many of the characteristics of remote health in Australia and outlines the health practice necessary for the delivery of the service in the rural and remote context. When analysing the case study, you need to identify both the characteristics (geographical, professional) and the context (working cross-culturally, small dispersed and often highly mobile populations with relatively high health needs, and physical). You will also need to: • Identify and discuss the key and distinctive features of health service delivery in the specific rural or remote context • Identify and analyse specific issues of health service delivery in the specific rural or remote context • Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of the identified features and issues of health service delivery on rural or remote health professionals’ practice • Communicate clearly and provided a cohesive and supported argument by – using appropriate and accurate language, correct grammar and spelling, proof read and edited the assignment, and formatted