Volume nineteen, Issue 4

In most western countries, occupational therapy is well established as a crucial aspect of overall health care, but it is still an emerging profession in the developing world. This paper investigates the role of occupational therapy (OT) in the Solomon Islands by examining the experiences and perceptions of OTs and other rehabilitation health workers who have worked there.

Constipation in childhood occurs as a result of multifactorial causes; some possible risk factors include dietary habits, physical inactivity, gender, lower socioeconomic and psychological parameters and medications. This study determined the prevalence of constipation in infants aged 0–12 months in rural areas of Turkey.
 

This research article addresses the relationship between distance traveled for medical care and participation in chronic disease prevention and management programs. The authors hypothesized that those who must travel greater distances for medical care would show higher levels of participation in chronic disease management programs. Findings of this study indicate, however, that distance from medical care did not result in greater likelihood of participation in chronic disease management programs.

Abortion has been legal in the Australian state of Victoria since 2008 and medical termination of pregnancy has been available since 2012. Although these developments were expected to improve Victorian rural women’s access to abortion, this has not been borne out in practice. This study explored the knowledge and practice of rural GPs in relation to unintended pregnancy and referral for abortion, using the Grampians region of Victoria as a case study.

In 2008, the Medical Council of New Zealand recognised Rural Hospital Medicine as a vocational scope of practice with the aims of providing training and professional development standards for medical practitioners and encouraging quality systems to become established in rural hospitals. This case study explores how the new scope has affected health practitioners and the health service at a rural hospital that is part of an integrated primary health care service that serves a largely Māori community in New Zealand’s far north.

Lack of understanding of the role of palliative care and poor availability of culturally safe specialist palliative care services impact on Indigenous people’s end-of-life decision-making. This study explored Aboriginal people's perspectives and experiences at the end-of-life in a community in Western Australia.

Caregivers of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) can experience challenges and high levels of stress due to the disruptive behaviours displayed by many children diagnosed with FASD. Although experiences of caregivers raising children with FASD have been documented globally, there is little known regarding the experiences of caregivers in a remote Australian context, and particularly from an Australian Aboriginal perspective. This study investigates the experiences of caregivers in a remote Australian context.

This research article reports on a study of rural primary care providers' attitudes towards LGBT populations. Findings suggest that improving rural providers' attitudes towards these individuals may positively affect healthcare for this population. The authors provide insight into potential programmatic interventions and future research needs.

Although tobacco smoking prevalence in the adult Brazilian population is monitored through population-based surveys, most findings come from studies undertaken in urban areas. This study assessed tobacco smoking prevalence and associated factors among elderly people in the rural area of the municipality of Rio Grande, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Adolescents from Indigenous populations in Ratanak Kiri Province, Cambodia experience comparably worse sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes when compared with their urban counterparts. This study identifies factors that may explain the poor SRH outcomes experienced by this population group.

Behavioral determinants can enable or hinder motivation towards registration and donorship and, subsequently, action or inertia towards organ donation. This study explores knowledge, attitudes and general self-efficacy among rural primary care attendants within a recently established ‘soft’ opt-out system.

This study describes the physical activity environments in early childhood education and care settings, and identifies child and contextual factors associated with physical activity in these settings. Findings from this study suggest that it is necessary to upskill and encourage teachers to maximise opportunities for physical activity in rural low-income communities in South Africa.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading viral cause of acute lower respiratory infections globally, accounting for high morbidity and mortality burden among children <5 years. As candidate RSV vaccine trials are underway, a greater understanding of RSV epidemiology is now needed, especially in paediatric populations with high rates of acute and chronic respiratory disease. This study identifies RSV prevalence in children living in northern Australia, a region with a high respiratory disease burden.

This Original Research article describes a study with incarcerated, rural women who use drugs to examine their perspectives on co-occurence of mental health challenges and substance use. Findings revealed challenges for these women related to stigmatization and limited treatment resources.

This research reports on health professionals' perspectives on health vulnerabilities and health care for Migrant Agricultural Workers. Findings suggest a need to respond to complex health challenges as well as for more research to assess new programs and supports.

Recent evidence indicates that the oral health for children in Timor-Leste is deteriorating, with 40% of school children experiencing toothache during 2014. This study investigated the caries status and potential risk factors among primary school children in the rural Aileu Municipality of Timor-Leste.

Geographic measures of accessibility can quantify inequitable distributions of health care. Although closest-distance measures are often used in Aotearoa New Zealand, these may not reflect patient use of health care. This study examines patterns of patient enrolment in general practitioner services from a geospatial perspective.

This Commentary focuses on the value of interdisciplinary teams to address complex care needs for aging rural adults. The authors present a conceptual model for creating and mobilizing interdisciplinary care teams for aging adults in rural areas.

Increased participation in cervical cancer screening is associated with reduced incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Rurality is a known risk factor for cervical cancer, with women living in rural and remote areas less likely to participate in cervical cancer screening. This systematic literature review and qualitative meta-synthesis explores rural women's perspectives and experiences around accessing cervical cancer screening. Findings could support tailored interventions to increase cervical cancer screening participation rates in this population.

This Review Article analyses the strategic relevance of interventions to reduce physician shortages in rural areas. The authors first identified and prioritized determinants of physician shortages and then analyzed interventions based on their ability to target those determinants.

This Clinical Case Report describes diagnosis of Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome (KTS) – a very rare congenital vascular anomaly - in an isolated, rural community. Due to the lack of of medical and surgical sub-specialists in many rural areas, the authors point to the importance of general practitioner awareness of these disorders for diagnosis and management of potential complications.

Evaluation expertise to assist with identifying improvements, sourcing relevant literature and facilitating learning from project implementation is not routinely available or accessible to not-for-profit organisations. This article describes how the program management team and an external evaluation consultancy collaboratively designed and implemented a utilisation-focused evaluation for the The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Indigenous Australia Program’s Trachoma Elimination Program.

Barriers to adolescent primary health care access are complex and include social, behavioural and geographical issues as well as organisational and systemic barriers. This paper describes the first year of implementation of a Doctors in Secondary School Program in a rural setting, Victoria, Australia.