Building capacity in the rural physiotherapy workforce: a paediatric training partnership

Area of Science:

• Health Workforce Development
• Rural Health Services
• Allied Health Professions

Background:

• Rural areas face a shortage of paediatric physiotherapy expertise due to limited postgraduate training opportunities.
• This deficiency leads to fragmented services and necessitates families traveling long distances for care.
• Australia's National Strategic Framework for Rural and Remote Health emphasizes the need for a skilled rural health workforce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance local paediatric physiotherapy services in rural Australia.
• To provide rural physiotherapists with postgraduate professional development and career pathways.
• To improve retention of health professionals in rural and remote areas.

Main Methods:

• A 6-month postgraduate paediatric clinical and academic training program for two physiotherapists.
• Utilized purpose-built questionnaires for project evaluation.
• Included weekly tutorials, case studies, and clinical rotations across various health settings.

Main Results:

• Increased provision of skilled paediatric physiotherapy services in rural areas.
• Enhanced clinicians' paediatric knowledge, confidence, and job satisfaction.
• Facilitated succession planning for senior clinicians through peer training.

Conclusions:

• The training program successfully improved services and promoted workforce retention.
• Sustainable funding and strong stakeholder partnerships (education, health services, government) are essential for program continuation.
• Lack of ongoing funding risks disadvantaging rural children with physical disabilities.