Practical recommendations for planning and running live online education workshops for the rural health workforce.

AIM: This commentary presents practical and evidenced based guidelines for the development and delivery of real-time online training workshops aimed at rural health professionals. CONTEXT: Online learning is increasingly being used as an avenue for delivering education, particularly to rural and remote sites where barriers persist in upskilling health workers. Further, online learning has become essential during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In response to the Australian 2020 COVID-19 social distancing requirements, our team rapidly transformed face-to-face educational workshops into an online format, to deliver over 20 workshops to more than 150 multidisciplinary staff across our large rural district. APPROACH: There are no published guidelines regarding the conversion of face-to-face education programs into an online format within health care. We conducted a review of the literature regarding the implementation of online education programs. Three broad categories of evidence were identified: participant qualities, content development and content deliverance. CONCLUSION: We present a set of practical and evidenced based recommendations, which will enhance live online workshops for a rural health workforce. These recommendations are derived both from published literature and our experience delivering our workshops. We argue that rural health professionals and organisations need relevant, up-to-date practical guidelines and more institutional support and training focused on creating and implementing live online educational programs in rural Australia.

Assessing the availability, price, nutritional value and consumer views about foods and beverages from vending machines across university campuses in regional New South Wales, Australia.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Vending machines are ubiquitous. However, there is limited evidence on the nutritional value of food and beverages vended on university campuses and on the views of potential users. This study identified the availability, price and nutritional value of food and beverages vended on regional university campuses and investigated the views of university staff and students. METHODS: The availability and price of food and beverages vended on five regional university campuses were assessed by direct observation. Volunteers (n = 222) completed an anonymous, online or paper survey to assess their perspectives on products available in campus vending machines. RESULTS: Sixty per cent of 1259 slots identified in 49 vending machines were for foods and 40% were for beverages. Almost all foods (93%) and the majority of beverages (53%) vended were categorised as "less healthy." The mean difference between the prices of healthier and less healthy foods and beverages was $0.72 and $0.16, respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant. Nearly 40% of participants were unsatisfied with the products available. CONCLUSION: Vending machines on regional university campuses contained a high proportion of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods which contribute to an obesogenic environment. Regional university staff and students desire healthier vending options. SO WHAT?: Findings can be used to inform stakeholders of the need to improve the nutritional quality of food and beverages vended on regional university campuses. Development of food policy for university settings and adoption of strategies to improve the availability and price of healthy foods would promote healthier food choices.