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Defining remote health
Author(s) -
Wakerman John
Publication year - 2004
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.1440-1854.2004.00607.x
Subject(s) - multidisciplinary approach , variety (cybernetics) , context (archaeology) , the internet , public relations , public health , geography , medicine , nursing , sociology , political science , world wide web , computer science , social science , archaeology , artificial intelligence
Objective: To develop a definition of the discipline of Remote Health.Design: A broad literature search using key words and an Internet search of industry‐recognised web sites were carried out.Results: Fifty‐five relevant citations and nine web sites were reviewed, covering Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States. The papers offered a variety of definitions of geographical and practice‐based approaches to ‘remoteness’, and definitions of ‘remote and rural health’.Conclusions: None of the single current definitions in the literature adequately reflect all of the characteristics of Remote Health in Australia. A definition is offered: Remote Health is an emerging discipline with distinct sociological, historical and practice characteristics. Its practice in Australia is characterised by geographical, professional and, often, social isolation of practitioners; a strong multidisciplinary approach; overlapping and changing roles of team members; a relatively high degree of GP substitution; and practitioners requiring public health, emergency and extended clinical skills. These skills and remote health systems, need to be suited to working in a cross‐cultural context; serving small, dispersed and often highly mobile populations; serving populations with relatively high health needs; and a physical environment of climatic extremes.What this paper adds?: In Australia and internationally there are a variety of measures of rurality and remoteness, which have focused on geographical or medical practice‐based sociodemographic factors, often related to remuneration scales. With an increasing recognition of and interest in the distinction between ‘Rural Health’ and ‘Remote Health’, there needs to be a better understanding of the characteristics of the emerging discipline of Remote Health which distinguish it from Rural Health practice.This paper searched the international literature for a meaningful definition of Remote Health in the Australian context. There was not one single, appropriate definition, but the information uncovered has contributed to the development of a definition that can inform the work of educators, researchers and policy‐makers, and give appropriate recognition to Remote Health practitioners.