Health professionals working in remote A ustralia: a review of the literature

• Published in: Asia Pacific journal of human resources 2016-01, Vol.54 (1), p.32-56
• Main Authors: Onnis, Leigh‐ann Lesley, Pryce, Josephine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1038-4111; 1744-7941
• DOI: 10.1111/1744-7941.12067

Health professionals working in remote A ustralia have demanding and stressful yet diverse and rewarding roles. The health domain literature examines the challenges of health service delivery non‐cognisant of the benefits of a human resource management ( HRM ) approach. This systematic literature review uses an HRM approach to examine what is already known on this topic, and to identify key extant themes in order to determine: 1) which factors are common across the entire remote health workforce; and 2) whether there are factors that are unique to working in remote Indigenous communities that need further consideration. The findings suggest that the challenges and rewards are similar for health professionals working in remote Indigenous communities and those working in rural and remote regions. Therefore, the emergent themes (personal, professional, organisational and contextual) presented within a conceptual framework in this article are pertinent for all health professionals working in remote A ustralia. 1 HRM approaches complement those currently used in the health domain for analysing remote workforce challenges. 2 Workforce challenges in remote regions and remote Indigenous communities are more similar than different. 3 Evidence‐based HRM theories relevant to the remote health workforce challenges are identified. 4 The literature synthesis provides a sound framework for further research.