Department of Rural Health, The University of Melbourne, 49 Graham Street, Shepparton, VIC, 3630, Australia.
Grampians Health, 102 Ascot St Sth, Ballarat, VIC, 3350, Australia.
BMC Med Educ. 2023 Mar 30;23(1):200. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04169-5.
Research capacity and capability of rural health professionals is essential to the delivery of evidence-based care and for informing strategies to address rural health inequities. Effective implementation of research education and training is fundamental to building rural health professional research capacity and capability. A lack of overarching guidance to inform the delivery of research education and training in rural health services can contribute to gaps in capacity-building approaches. The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of the design and implementation of current research training for rural health professionals in Victoria, Australia, to inform a future model for rural health professional research capacity and capability building.
A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken. Key informants, with extensive knowledge of research education and training in rural health services in Victoria, were invited to participate in semi-structured telephone interviews via snowballing recruitment methods. Interview transcripts were analysed inductively, with themes and codes mapped to the domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.
Of the 40 key informants approached, 20 agreed to participate including 11 regional health service managers, five rural health academics and four university managers. Participants suggested that research training varied in quality and relevance to rural health professionals. Training costs and lack of tailoring to the rural context were key barriers, whereas experiential learning and flexible modes of delivery enabled training uptake. Health service and government policies, structures, and processes both enabled or stifled implementation opportunities, with rural health professional networks from different regions offering capacity for research training development, and government departmental structures hampering training coordination. Tension between research activities and clinical practice, and health professional knowledge and beliefs, shaped the delivery of training programs. Strategically planned and evaluated research training programs and education via co-design with rural health professionals and use of research champions were strongly recommended by participants.
To optimise research training for rural health professionals and increase the quality and quantity of relevant rural health research, a systematically planned, implemented, and resourced region-wide research training model is required.
农村卫生专业人员的研究能力和水平对于提供循证医疗服务以及制定解决农村卫生不平等问题的策略至关重要。有效实施研究教育和培训是建设农村卫生专业人员研究能力和水平的基础。缺乏全面的指导来为农村卫生服务提供研究教育和培训可能会导致能力建设方法的差距。本研究的目的是确定澳大利亚维多利亚州农村卫生专业人员当前研究培训的设计和实施特点，为未来的农村卫生专业人员研究能力和水平建设提供模型。
采用定性描述性研究方法。邀请对维多利亚州农村卫生服务中研究教育和培训具有丰富知识的主要知情人通过滚雪球的招募方法参加半结构化电话访谈。使用归纳法对访谈记录进行分析，将主题和代码映射到实施研究综合框架的领域。
在联系的 40 名主要知情人中，有 20 人同意参与，包括 11 名区域卫生服务经理、5 名农村卫生学者和 4 名大学经理。参与者认为研究培训的质量和与农村卫生专业人员的相关性各不相同。培训成本高且不适合农村背景是主要障碍，而体验式学习和灵活的交付模式则促进了培训的接受。卫生服务和政府政策、结构和流程都为实施机会提供了支持或阻碍，来自不同地区的农村卫生专业人员网络为研究培训的发展提供了能力，而政府部门结构则阻碍了培训的协调。研究活动与临床实践以及卫生专业人员的知识和信念之间的紧张关系影响了培训计划的实施。参与者强烈建议通过与农村卫生专业人员共同设计和使用研究拥护者来战略性地规划、实施和评估研究培训计划和教育。
为了优化农村卫生专业人员的研究培训并提高相关农村卫生研究的质量和数量，需要制定一个系统规划、实施和资源分配的全区域研究培训模型。
