2025/10/27 by Emma Brown, Beth Ould, Harry Brown +2 · 1 voice
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Education Systems and Policy #Global Health Workforce Issues #Nursing Roles and Practices
paper · doi:10.22605/rrh9532
openalex publication_date 2025/10/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
INTRODUCTION: Australians in rural and remote areas have poorer health and welfare outcomes than urban populations. Rural people are reliant on a consistent workforce to service the population. Attracting and maintaining a health professional workforce in rural Australia has been well documented as an ongoing issue. However, there is a need for research that explicitly investigates the unique factors that impact the recruitment and retention of allied health workers. METHODS: A scoping review methodology was utilised to investigate the research question: How does the current literature identify, describe and address workforce recruitment and retention issues for allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia? Utilising the PRISMA-ScR guidelines for conducting a scoping review, 14 databases (Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Ovid EmCare, AMED, APA PsycInfo, Ovid Medline ALL, Scopus, CINAHL Complete, Dissertations & Theses Global, Nursing & Allied Health, Rural & Remote Health database, Health Collection, ATSI-Health and Open Access Theses and Dissertations) and the grey literature were systematically searched for sources published between 2013 and 2024, with four key concepts utilised as search terms. The Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool was used to review the quality of the literature, and a narrative synthesis approach was utilised to collate and summarise the data. RESULTS: In total, 11,165 sources were extracted from the database search, with title and abstract screening completed on 4,441 sources. Following full-text review, 60 sources were included in the review, 45 of which were peer-reviewed. Sources included research articles (n=27), reports (n=9), review articles (n=5), conference documents (n=3), web pages and online magazine pieces (n=8) and other sources (n=8). Many studies used a qualitative study design (n=11) and 22 sources generally referred to allied health professions without specifying which discipline. Of the specified allied health profession across sources, physiotherapy was the most studied (n=16), with occupational therapy (n=11) and psychology (n=9) following. The narrative synthesis yielded five key themes: Workforce: opportunities, facilitators and challenges; Rural health career: professional and personal identity; Workplace and professional role: demands, benefits and opportunities; Community and family: support, care and connectedness; and Connection, commitment and collaboration. CONCLUSION: This scoping review highlights the opportunities, facilitators and challenges that affect the allied health workforce. It informs recommendations for professionals, organisations, communities and policymakers to build on the sector's strengths, and resources and presents a range of innovative strategies being trialled and implemented by the allied health workforce.