Rural workforce measures promoted at Canberra conference
Matthew McGrail’s research on the development of a new national-scale measure of primary health care access was presented as a finished product (in terms of its development) for the first time in a public forum at the 2014 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Canberra.
His conference presentation was titled “A new Index of Access and the Monash Model: two ‘fit-for-purpose’ measures for rural workforce planning and resource allocation”. The concurrent session presented a significant body of research in rural and remote PHC, with three out of the four presenters supported by the CRE.
“I have recently submitted my main paper on the Index of Access to a leading international journal, where it is currently under peer-review. In addition, a related discussion paper is currently being finalised for publication as a small book,“ he said.
“The Centre of Research Excellence in Rural and Remote Primary Health Care was extremely well represented at the conference. I have now participated and presented key findings in each of the last four years of this conference.”
The PHCRIS conference, which returned to Canberra this year, is a key annual event for Primary Health Care research.
Matthew is currently in Washington DC for five weeks as a visiting scholar in the Robert Graham Centre for Policy Studies in Family Practice and Primary Care. “During this time, I will be exploring opportunities to continue and further my research relating to the Index of Access. Additionally, my visit in the USA will conclude at the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) conference in New York.”