Therapy support workforce for rural communities

Why

It can be difficult for families in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia to access regular allied health services like speech pathology, psychology and occupational therapy. Issues of long wait lists, lack of choice of specialists, and extensive travel, are underpinned by difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff in these areas.

Allied Health Assistants (AHA) deliver therapy support – under the supervision of Allied Health Professionals – to regional, rural and remote communities via fly-in fly-out and tele-practice service models.

What service model allows AHAs to deliver efficient, sustainable therapy support to Autistic people and their families living in hard to reach locations?

The research

We will use photovoice, a method where the participant and their local support team use photos to capture aspects of their environment and experiences to share with researchers.

We will also use experience sampling to understand the experiences of allied health assistants and allied health professionals as they navigate all aspects of this model of service delivery.

Finally. a cost benefit analysis will be conducted to investigate the sustainability of the allied health assistant model. This will help to ensure we can continue to deliver this model into rural and remote areas where support is most needed beyond the funded project period.

Making a difference

Findings from this study will be used to develop an AHA workforce to deliver professional, culturally competent services to participants in their local community. The model will also enable Aspect to efficiently and sustainably provide services to more individuals on the spectrum in hard to reach locations; increasing our ability to meet participant demand and address unmet need. Research and evaluation will ensure this model is successful in facilitating positive therapeutic outcomes for NDIS participants.

Research team

Dr Genevieve Johnsson, ARCAP (Lead researcher)

Research partner

Dr Kim Bulkeley, University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy

Funding

NDIS Jobs and Market Funding

Related page

• Allied Health Assistant Workforce Development Project