Help needed to improve health professional training in rural, remote and Indigenous communities
Announcement posted by HEARing CRC 14 Mar 2012
The Hearing Cooperative Research Centre (HEARing CRC) is seeking to collaborate with rural, remote and Indigenous health and community groups to develop training modules that will enable more audiologists and other allied health professionals to work in t
Research Officer Lois MacCullagh from Macquarie University (a HEARing CRC Member organisation) is currently developing a series of training and supervision resources for audiologists – health professionals that diagnosis and rehabilitate people with hearing loss.
“This includes developing training materials to prepare audiologists for working in remote and Indigenous communities,” Lois explained.
“To do this, we need to work with health professionals currently operating in these locations to ensure our training materials will be relevant and useful. We also need input from community groups to ensure that the training is appropriate to the particular needs of rural, remote and Indigenous communities.”
Input from these collaborations will contribute to a suite of training materials that will go online so that audiologists
and other allied health professionals can undertake training no matter where they are located.
“We are also looking into ways to provide better access to quality supervision and mentoring for audiologists in remote areas by utilising online technologies. We hope to break down the barriers of professional isolation and provide new avenues for peer support and professional development.”
“A key challenge will be internet speed and reliability in rural and remote areas. We anticipate that the rollout of the National Broadband Network may help in this regard. However, we are also building in a number of safeguards and contingency plans for users with slow internet services.”
“This is likely to result in better hearing health outcomes in the communities they are working in.” While the HEARing CRC’s focus is on improving hearing health outcomes through better access to training and supervision, what we are developing is likely to have broader applications to a variety of other health services.
In particular, the HEARing CRC is looking for collaborators to develop training materials in the following areas:
Telesupervision technology and training
Videootoscopy technology and training
Clinical upskilling – e.g. middle ear disease management
Social and professional adjustment
Indigenous cultural awareness
Population health approaches.
“We’re keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in collaborating in any of these areas, or who may just have some thoughts or advice to share with us,” Lois explained.
For further information contact: Lois MacCullagh e: lois.maccullagh@mq.edu.au.
In addition to this initiative, HEARing CRC partner Audiology Australia (the national association for audiologists) will also be releasing a guide to assist audiologists working with Indigenous Australians in early 2012.
HEARing CRC research is financially supported by the Cooperative Research Centres Program – a Commonwealth Government Initiative.
“This includes developing training materials to prepare audiologists for working in remote and Indigenous communities,” Lois explained.
“To do this, we need to work with health professionals currently operating in these locations to ensure our training materials will be relevant and useful. We also need input from community groups to ensure that the training is appropriate to the particular needs of rural, remote and Indigenous communities.”
Input from these collaborations will contribute to a suite of training materials that will go online so that audiologists
and other allied health professionals can undertake training no matter where they are located.
“We are also looking into ways to provide better access to quality supervision and mentoring for audiologists in remote areas by utilising online technologies. We hope to break down the barriers of professional isolation and provide new avenues for peer support and professional development.”
“A key challenge will be internet speed and reliability in rural and remote areas. We anticipate that the rollout of the National Broadband Network may help in this regard. However, we are also building in a number of safeguards and contingency plans for users with slow internet services.”
“This is likely to result in better hearing health outcomes in the communities they are working in.” While the HEARing CRC’s focus is on improving hearing health outcomes through better access to training and supervision, what we are developing is likely to have broader applications to a variety of other health services.
In particular, the HEARing CRC is looking for collaborators to develop training materials in the following areas:
Telesupervision technology and training
Videootoscopy technology and training
Clinical upskilling – e.g. middle ear disease management
Social and professional adjustment
Indigenous cultural awareness
Population health approaches.
“We’re keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in collaborating in any of these areas, or who may just have some thoughts or advice to share with us,” Lois explained.
For further information contact: Lois MacCullagh e: lois.maccullagh@mq.edu.au.
In addition to this initiative, HEARing CRC partner Audiology Australia (the national association for audiologists) will also be releasing a guide to assist audiologists working with Indigenous Australians in early 2012.
HEARing CRC research is financially supported by the Cooperative Research Centres Program – a Commonwealth Government Initiative.