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Stream Twelve

Extension Funding: Workforce

The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute awarded three extension grants to teams who participated in the previous Workforce Stream - Stream Six.

Dr Grant Blashki, Dr Victoria Palmer and Professor John Humphreys were successful in securing funding in this round of research commissioning. Their projects build on their previous work in Stream Six examining depression care in general practice, the role of generalism and the sustainability of the rural health workforce in Australia.

OPTIMISING ALLIED HEALTH PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: PILOTING A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF SOCIAL WORKER TRAINING IN FOCUSED PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGIES (THE SW-fps STUDY)

Dr Grant Blashki

The SW-fps Study was part of a broader body of research which aims to improve access to evidence-based psychological treatments in primary health care. Over the last decade, major mental health reforms in Australia, such as the Better Outcomes and Better Access programs, have greatly increased community access to psychological treatments through a range of funding models designed to support provision of psychological treatments by allied health providers. More recently social workers, amongst other allied health professionals, are beginning to utilise the Medicare incentives to provide psychological treatments in primary mental health care.

Key findings
Policy options
Full report

ARRANGING GENERALISM IN THE 2020 PRIMARY CARE TEAM

Dr Victoria Palmer

This study set out to explore the future health care needs of patients with complex and multiple problems; a group of patients that are most likely to receive multidisciplinary care and who currently receive services from a range of health care providers. The aim was to explore patient’s needs and to identify if the features of generalism have relevance for the development of multidisciplinary team care in the Australian primary care setting.

Key findings
Policy options
Full report

IMPROVING WORKFORCE RETENTION: DEVELOPING AN INTEGRATED LOGIC MODEL TO MAXIMISE SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL RURAL AND REMOTE HEALTH CARE SERVICES

Professor John Humphreys

The need to sustain an adequate, appropriately qualified workforce is key to sustainable primary health care services and improving health outcomes in small rural and remote communities. Many of these health services experience shortages of health workers and high levels of staff turnover. Unnecessarily high workforce turnover results in loss of skills and experience, restricts consumer access to care, compromises the continuity and quality of care, and results in high recruitment costs. However, little is known about what is a reasonable length of stay for health workers or the effectiveness of retention incentives. This study provides a framework and methodology that enables managers to monitor workforce retention by connecting human resource inputs with workforce outcomes, service performance and sustainability.

Key findings
Policy options
Full report