Towards a National Longitudinal Tracking Framework of Health Graduate Practice Locations

Workforce maldistribution is a challenge to the equitable provision of healthcare in Australia. This Commentary details how a multi-university, large-scale, and growing data asset is positioned to contribute strategically and operationally to addressing national workforce priorities.

The Nursing and Allied Health Graduate Outcome Tracking (NAHGOT) study is a prospective longitudinal research project with a commitment to nationwide geographical coverage. NAHGOT links practice location data (the outcome) from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) with university administrative records, such as admission and placement data (explanatory variables). NAHGOT also links external surveys and publicly available spatial data describing socio-economic conditions and access to services. There are seven universities formally part of the collaboration, with five others in the process of joining. NAHGOT has established a framework including project governance, data linkage and management protocols, and a central repository for de-identified data.

The background of NAHGOT, the benefits to the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training program, current limitations and challenges, and the case for scale-up and future direction are described.

Universities are uniquely positioned to lead graduate tracking as they have access to a suite of key explanatory variables not available elsewhere. Increasing the number of participating universities within NAHGOT is a priority, as is broadening the pool of disciplines beyond those covered by Ahpra. The geo-enrichment of placement and practice data is also a priority. This will allow a more granular understanding of local workforce dynamics that can be overlooked if analysis is limited to existing geographical classifications.