Design and implementation characteristics of research training for rural health professionals: a qualitative descriptive study

Background: Research capacity and capability of rural health professionals is essential to the delivery of evidence-based care and for informing strategies to address rural health inequities. Effective implementation of research education and training is fundamental to building rural health professional research capacity and capability. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to identify characteristics of the design and implementation of current research training for rural health professionals in Victoria, Australia, to inform a future model for rural health professional research capacity and capability building.

Results: Participants suggested that research training varied in quality and relevance to rural health professionals. Training costs and lack of tailoring to the rural context were key barriers, whereas experiential learning and flexible modes of delivery enabled training uptake. Health service and government policies, structures, and processes both enabled or stifled implementation opportunities, with rural health professional networks from different regions offering capacity for research training development, and government departmental structures hampering training coordination. Tension between research activities and clinical practice, and health professional knowledge and beliefs, shaped the delivery of training programs.

Conclusions: To optimise research training for rural health professionals and increase the quality and quantity of relevant rural health research, a systematically planned, implemented, and resourced region-wide research training model is required.

Citation:

https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-023-04169-5#Ack1