Rapid evidence assessment of student-assisted assessment and brief intervention clinics: Addressing the gaps in rural and remote health care.

OBJECTIVES: With high disease and disability burden in rural and remote regions, student-assisted clinics can be an effective workforce development tool to meet community health needs and workforce shortages. This research sought to identify the conditions under which student-assisted clinics can be successfully utilised as a workforce development strategy, with specific application to remote Queensland, Australia. METHODS: A rapid review of the international literature in English was conducted. This was the most appropriate type of review because the results of the review were time-sensitive, with the student-assisted clinic model being trialled in Queensland soon. A mixed methods design was applied, with the search strategy piloted with one database. RESULTS: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven reported data on participant experiences, including consumers, students, services/clinics, and educators/supervisors/health professionals. Each of the studies operationalised student-assisted clinics through practice models (university-driven learning need), service delivery models (service driven need addressed through a student workforce), community need models (student delivered services primarily addressing a community health need), and blended models (practice need and community need). Some studies reported concerns about fragmentation of services, referral pathways and issues with follow-up, while others reported concerns about sustainable funding. All models reported successful outcomes when focused on service or consumer health outcomes, or student learning outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Student-assisted clinics make an important contribution to the development of the rural and remote health workforce. Student-assisted clinics can complement and extend existing services, supporting workforce development in an overstretched health system impacted by an ongoing pandemic.

Models of remote professional supervision for psychologists in rural and remote locations: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Psychology workforce shortages in geographically rural or remote contexts have highlighted the need to understand the supervisory experiences of psychologists practising in these locations, and the models of supervision employed to support their practice and improve client safety. OBJECTIVE: To review the models of remote professional supervision and the supervisory experiences of psychologists practising in rural and remote locations. DESIGN: Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for mixed-methods systematic review, 8 health and education databases were searched using keyword and subject heading searches. FINDINGS: The initial search identified 413 studies. A full-text review identified 4 papers that met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to a methodological appraisal by 2 reviewers. Three studies included qualitative data, with 2 using transcribed interviews. Two studies reported quantitative data, with only one study including a statistical analysis of the outcomes. DISCUSSION: The results for the efficacy of the current models of remote supervision being used within the allied health and psychology professions are limited, with methodological limitations cautioning generalisability of results. The experiences of psychologists engaged in remote supervision do not appear to have changed over the past decade despite technological advances. CONCLUSIONS: Quality professional supervision is critical for the sustainability of the psychology workforce in rural and remote locations, reducing professional isolation, and for improved patient outcomes. This review identified a need for improved evidence for remote supervision models for psychologists working in geographically rural and remote locations. Lessons can be learned from other health professions' models of remote supervision.

Promoting positive development: Coaches as trainers in sports-based resilience programs.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a train-the-trainer model for sporting coaches delivering a youth sports-based resilience program. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental design was applied, with a pre-post comparison, utilising purposive sampling to take advantage of an existing naturally formed group. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11 coaches and 86 athletes involved in a community rowing program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Coaches responded to paper-based measures of resilience and knowledge/attitudes pre- and post-completion of a training workshop. Athletes responded to online measures of stress, efficacy and life satisfaction pre- and post-completion of a resilience program. RESULTS: Following the completion of the train-the-trainer workshop, coaches reported significant increases in general knowledge and confidence in teaching resilience skills. Following the delivery of the resilience program, athlete self-efficacy and satisfaction with life scores were significantly higher, with significant reductions in reported stress for athletes trained by the varsity-level coaches. CONCLUSION: There is support for investing in a train-the-trainer model for the delivery of a resilience skills program within a sports context. Caution is given to investing in the training and support of the coaches, particularly coaches with less coaching experience. These results are consistent with previous research and demonstrate support for coach-led resilience programs being effective in community settings, with implications for rural and remote locations.