Do Lisa Hai My, Dimitropoulos Yvonne, Biles Jessica, Christian Bradley, Sohn Woosung
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Jul 3;25(1):922. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-13066-0.
Rural oral health practitioners in New South Wales (NSW) face unique challenges related to workforce shortages, professional isolation and limited access to specialist services. Despite the critical role in delivering oral health care to rural communities, there is limited research examining the experiences of this workforce. This study aims to explore the clinical, cultural and personal dimensions of their experiences.
This qualitative study utilises an inductive research design and follows Braun and Clarke's framework for thematic analysis. Virtual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five oral health practitioners working in three participating rural Local Health Districts (LHDs) in NSW.
Four key, interconnected themes were identified: (1) workforce recruitment and retention difficulties, (2) financial challenges and inadequate rural incentives, (3) barriers to accessing professional development opportunities, and (4) limitations to specialised oral health services access.
This study highlights the complex challenges faced by rural oral health practitioners in NSW. Addressing workforce shortages, improving financial incentives, expanding CPD access and strengthening service delivery models are crucial for sustaining the rural oral health workforce. Targeted policy interventions and support systems are needed to enhance workforce retention and improve oral health access and therefore, outcomes, in rural communities.
新南威尔士州（NSW）的农村口腔健康从业者面临着与劳动力短缺、专业孤立以及获得专科服务机会有限相关的独特挑战。尽管他们在为农村社区提供口腔医疗服务方面发挥着关键作用，但针对这一劳动力群体经历的研究却很有限。本研究旨在探讨他们经历的临床、文化和个人层面。
本定性研究采用归纳研究设计，并遵循布劳恩和克拉克的主题分析框架。对新南威尔士州三个参与研究的农村地方卫生区（LHDs）工作的五名口腔健康从业者进行了虚拟半结构化访谈。
确定了四个关键的相互关联的主题：（1）劳动力招聘和留用困难，（2）财务挑战和农村激励措施不足，（3）获得专业发展机会的障碍，以及（4）获得专科口腔健康服务的限制。
本研究突出了新南威尔士州农村口腔健康从业者面临的复杂挑战。解决劳动力短缺问题、改善财务激励措施、扩大继续职业发展机会以及加强服务提供模式对于维持农村口腔健康劳动力至关重要。需要有针对性的政策干预和支持系统来提高劳动力留用率，并改善农村社区的口腔健康服务可及性，从而改善口腔健康状况。
