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STRENGTHENING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF RURAL COMMUNITIES TO ACCESS HEALTH FUNDING
Author(s) -
McDonald John,
Brown Leann,
Murphy Angela
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2002.tb00028.x
Subject(s) - business , capacity building , rural health , rural area , service (business) , health care , service delivery framework , community health , public relations , nursing , economic growth , medicine , political science , marketing , public health , pathology , economics
Present health funding models can place onerous pressures on rural health services. Staff may lack the time, resources, access to data, and the expertise needed to complete complex and lengthy funding submissions. This present study describes an innovative capacity‐building approach to working with Victorian rural communities seeking to access health care funding through the Regional Health Services Program. This approach used several strategies: engaging stakeholders in targeted rural communities, developing an information kit and running a workshop on preparing submissions to the Regional Health Services Program, facilitating community consultations, and providing ongoing support with submissions. Six rural communities were supported in this way. Four have been funded to date, with a combined annual recurrent budget for new primary health care services of over $2.5 million. Each community has developed a service delivery model that meets the particular needs of their local area. This capacity‐building approach is both effective and replicable to other health funding opportunities.