Ms Gemma Tuxworth1
1Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health, Australia
Abstract:
The Building the Rural and Remote Allied Health Assistant Workforce (BRAHAW) program aimed to assist rural and remote private and non-government allied health services to extend the capacity and reach of their service by establishing and implementing Allied Health Assistant (AHA) models of service delivery. The keystone to achieving this was the provision of a tailored package of support developed and implemented by Services for Rural and Remote Allied Health and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.
An external evaluation of BRAHAW was undertaken by Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. The evaluation employed mixed methods, including qualitative interviews with AHAs, allied health professionals and managers, and quantitative review of health service data.
Thirty-four BRAHAW training packages commenced in 18 organisations across the country, including 17 packages with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. BRAHAWs projected success rate was 87%. BRAHAW is an acceptable and desirable program, likely to be an effective model for increasing the number of AHAs to support service delivery. The financial support, resources, coaching and adaptability of the program were critical for success. Social and cultural factors have a profound influence in the recruitment and retention Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders AHAs. Quantitative demonstration of impact was constrained due to limited data availability.
BRAHAW enabled the development of safe, quality AHA service delivery models that supported workplaces and communities. Policy implications and recommendations for future implementation include ongoing support for rural and remote workforce development and further exploration of impact at community level.