Exploring an Allied Health Student Placement Model in Rural Aged-Care Settings: A UDRH Collaborative Evaluation Using...

To evaluate the expansion of the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program into aged care services across rural Victoria. The program was designed to address workforce shortages and enhance allied health service delivery in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs).

The evaluation was set in aged care services in rural Victoria, Australia, specifically within RACHs partnered with four Victorian University Departments of Rural Health.

Participants were allied health students undertaking placements in a service-learning model, aged care pro\viders and university staff involved in program implementation and evaluation.

Through a collaboration between La Trobe University's John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, the University of Melbourne's Department of Rural Health, Monash Rural Health, and two rural aged care providers, the evaluation employed a case study approach utilising the RE-AIM framework. Data sources included student focus groups and surveys, and stakeholder interviews and focus groups. The RE-AIM framework guided the data analysis.

The program positively influenced student attitudes towards aged care, addressed resident needs through increased access to allied health services, and supported rural workforce development. Students reported meaningful engagement with older adults, which influenced perceptions and fostered interest in aged care careers. Despite challenges such as student financial burden and supervision limitations, the model demonstrated value for students and residents.

The evaluation highlighted how placements provided allied health students with meaningful connections with older people, influenced attitudes and prompted them to consider aged care careers-an outcome that has significant implications for future workforce planning.