Research suggests that there is some confusion among quality improvement managers about the differences between quality management and traditional quality assurance. This lack of understanding would appear to be the same among rural and urban health staff, although there is a higher percentage of staff engaged in multidisciplinary activities in the rural health services. Education of staff and ...

This paper, derived from The role and function of the rural nurse in Australia study, describes the effects of organisational change upon the rural nurses participating in the study. It appears that whilst change is an inevitable and regular feature of rural health service delivery, it does not necessarily benefit rural nurses or communities for reasons unique to rural life. Nurses in the study...

BACKGROUND Health worker shortage and maldistribution are among the biggest threats to health systems in Africa. New medical graduates are prime targets for recruitment to deprived rural areas. However, little research has been done to determine the influence of workers' background and future plans on their preference for rural practice incentives and characteristics. The purpose of this study ...

BACKGROUND Shortages and maldistribution of nurses remain significant problems in many countries. Having appropriate intervention strategies to retain nurses in underserved areas, where they are most needed, are crucial for health system strengthening. This study aimed to quantify attitudes to working in rural areas, perceived competencies, and intention to work among final-year nursing student...

INTRODUCTION Rural radiographers require, over and above traditional radiographic expertise, additional competencies which to a certain degree are unique however not limited to rural practice. Previous studies, however, have focused more attention primarily on other rural health professionals such as doctors and nurses leaving a research need in this field. This article focuses on the additiona...

At the end of the year 1940, the total number of rural hospitals and dispensaries stood at 1,681; of these, 16 were state public, 41 state special, 1,242 local and municipal fund (including the village and union board dispensaries), 123 private aided, 71 railway, and 10 subsidized by district boards. I focus my attention to the 1,365 local, municipal and private dispensaries, most of which are ...

Rural emergency nurses face unique obstacles to providing quality end-of-life (EOL) care. Stories provided by emergency nurses embody their most difficult EOL care obstacles. METHODS A questionnaire was sent to 53 rural hospitals. Respondents were asked to share stories that epitomized the obstacles faced while providing EOL care in the rural emergency setting. RESULTS The lack of an ideal ...

There is a paucity of research demonstrating how best to address inequalities in health and access to specialist care faced by rural disadvantaged populations in high HIV-prevalent settings in Sub Saharan Africa. Delivering equitable and cost-effective specialist clinical services in many parts of Africa is challenging, given human resource shortages, poor transport infrastructure and competing...

OBJECTIVE This study explored the relationship between perceived barriers to research use and the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) among rural hospital nurses. BACKGROUND The Institute of Medicine recommends that 90% of clinical decisions be evidence based by 2020. METHODS This descriptive, quality improvement study used a convenience sampling of registered nurses (RNs). Part...

OBJECTIVE To explore the reasons why individuals recurrently present with asthma to hospital emergency departments. DESIGN A predominantly qualitative study in which participants were interviewed in-depth about their asthma. Data on medication use, respiratory health and asthma knowledge were also collected, and asthma severity was determined from medical records. SETTING A tertiary teachin...