Course Outline
HLT304 Health Care in Regional, Rural and Remote Areas
Course Coordinator:Cherie Wells (cwells@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Physiotherapy
2027Trimester 1
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
In this course you will explore challenges and complexities of delivering health care services in regional, rural, and remote areas. You will be orientated to different service delivery models, including telehealth, skill sharing and extended scope, and practice working in a flexible and collaborative manner with clients and other health professionals. You will also reflect on, and extend your cultural capabilities of respect, communication, safety and quality, reflection, and advocacy in relation to providing health care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Seminar – Introduction to course and assessment & mental health support. | 1hr | Week 1 | 5 times |
| Learning materials – Online learning materials for students to complete prior to workshop sessions | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Face to face workshop with group activities, discussion and simulations | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
- Regional, rural and remote health care services in Australia
- Current health trends and health status for different populations
- Multifactorial determinants of health and implications for different populations
- Barriers and enablers to health and access to health care in regional/rural/remote areas
- Benefits, challenges and opportunities for health workforce in regional/rural/remote areas
- Primary care responsibilities and interprofessional collaboration requirements
- Telehealth client services, and remote supervision and support of health professionals
- Delegation, skill sharing and extended scope opportunities in regional/rural/remote areas
- Ethical, legal and professional frameworks for different service delivery models and roles
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health priorities and health care needs/opportunities
- “Close the gap” campaign and targets for 2031, and progress to date
- Health promotion and primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies
- Culturally safe health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Graduate cultural capabilities (e.g. respect, communication, safety and quality, reflection, and advocacy)
What level is this course?
300 Level (Graduate)
Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Physiotherapy Board of Australia | |
| 1 | Critically reflect on the benefits, challenges and opportunities for providing health care in regional, rural and remote areas, and implications for your health profession |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered Sustainability-focussed |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1 |
| 2 | Compare health trends for different populations and explain determinants of health, and potential barriers and enablers to health and accessing health care |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 |
| 3 | Comply with ethical and legal requirements to plan and deliver safe, high quality and evidence-based health care services within your professional scope of practice |
Empowered Ethical |
1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 7.1 |
| 4 | Demonstrate effective communication, teamwork and technological skills to create digital resources and provide telehealth services in regional, rural and remote areas |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 3.1, 3.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1 |
| 5 | Apply cultural capabilities of respect, communication, quality and safety, reflection and advocacy when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 |
| 6 | Create culturally safe and evidence based education and health promotion resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in collaboration with others |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered Ethical |
1.2, 1.4, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2 |
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Physiotherapy Board of Australia | |
| 1.1 | Plan and implement an efficient, effective, culturally responsive and client-centred physiotherapy assessment |
| 1.2 | Involve the client and relevant others in the planning and implementation of safe and effective physiotherapy using evidence-based practice to inform decision-making |
| 1.3 | Review the continuation of physiotherapy and facilitate the client’s optimal participation in their everyday life |
| 1.4 | Advocate for clients and their rights to health care |
| 2.1 | Comply with legal, professional, ethical and other relevant standards, codes and guidelines |
| 2.2 | Make and act on informed and appropriate decisions about acceptable professional and ethical behaviours |
| 3.1 | Use clear, accurate, sensitive and effective communication to support the development of trust and rapport in professional relationships with the client and relevant others |
| 3.2 | Record and effectively communicate physiotherapy assessment findings, outcomes and decisions |
| 3.3 | Deal effectively with actual and potential conflict in a proactive and constructive manner |
| 4.1 | Assess their practice against relevant professional benchmarks and take action to continually improve their practice |
| 4.2 | Evaluate their learning needs, engage in relevant continuing professional development and recognise when to seek professional support, including peer review |
| 4.3 | Efficiently consume and effectively apply research and commit to practice informed by best available research evidence and new knowledge |
| 4.4 | Proactively apply principles of quality improvement and risk management to practice |
| 4.5 | Recognise situations that are outside their scope of expertise or competence and take appropriate and timely action |
| 5.1 | Engage in an inclusive, collaborative, consultative, culturally responsive and client-centred model of practice |
| 5.2 | Engage in safe, effective and collaborative interprofessional practice |
| 6.1 | Use education to empower themselves and others |
| 6.2 | Seek opportunities to lead the education of others, including physiotherapy students, as appropriate, within the physiotherapy setting |
| 7.1 | Organise and prioritise their workload and resources to provide safe, effective and efficient physiotherapy autonomously and, where relevant, as a team member |
| 7.2 | Lead others effectively and efficiently within relevant professional, ethical and legal frameworks |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
HLT150 AND PTY201 AND BH001
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Students will receive early and immediate feedback on their learning in the form of online quizzes (automatically marked as multiple choice). Students will also be provided with formative feedback within seminars and workshops.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 10% | 15 minutes per quiz |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Practical / Laboratory Skills, and Written Piece | Individual | 30% | 30 minutes |
Week 8 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Creative Performance, and Written Piece | Group | 30% | 5 minute digital resource, 2000 word assignment and one page student declaration of contributions to group assignment |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 4 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 30% | 60 minutes |
Exam Period | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Revision Quizzes | ||||||||||
| Goal: | To provide students with immediate feedback on learning with regards to regional, rural and remote practice in health. Feedback will help to direct revision and preparation for subsequent assessments and the written examination. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | Multiple choice online quizzes will be accessed via Canvas. There are two quizzes: 1. Revision Quiz 1 - relates to week 1-3 content 2. Revision Quiz 2 - relates to week 4-5 content Revision Quiz 1 is due in week 4 and Revision Quiz 2 is due in week 6. Each quiz will contribute 5% towards course grade. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Telehealth simulated client consultation and skill sharing | ||||||||||
| Goal: | To assess ability to provide ethical, safe and high quality telehealth consultations to clients in regional, rural and remote areas. To also assess capability to remotely teach, educate and upskill an appropriate support person, carer or other health professional to assist in therapy for the client. |
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| Product: | Practical / Laboratory Skills, and Written Piece | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | The format will be online video recording consisting of 3 sections: 1. Background information (10 minutes) - student will provide background details regarding simulated client and rationale/justification for education/intervention, and involvement of support person/other health professional. Narrated written power-point presentation is required. 2. Telehealth client session (10 minutes) where student will deliver the education/intervention to a simulated client, and monitor client response, and respond appropriately. 3. Telehealth education session (10 minutes) where the student will teach support person/other health professional (simulated) to assist the client, and to facilitate the implementation of education/intervention. This can be provided before the education/intervention with client if more appropriate. The assignment is due in week 8 (see specific date and time on CANVAS). Students need to submit the power-point slides and video to CANVAS by due date. References should be provided for written material using the APA referencing style (7th Edition) |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Health Promotion Assignment | |||||||
| Goal: | To assess student capacity to provide culturally safe, evidence-based education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and create innovative digital resources with peers which can be used to promote health and assist in the prevention of effective management of injury, illness or disease. |
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| Product: | Creative Performance, and Written Piece | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | This is a small group assignment which consists of: 1. A 5 minute digital health promotion/educational resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2. A 2000 word assignment justifying the topic and design of the resource with research evidence 3. Student declaration and explanation of contributions to the group project co-signed by all group members Students will form groups within their tutorial classes, and be supported in developing suitable topics and plans during the week 10 workshop. Students will need to reference research evidence using the APA referencing style (7th Edition). All documentation/resources will need to be submitted online on CANVAS in Week 12 - see CANVAS for detailed instructions/due date. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 4:Online Written Examination | |||||||
| Goal: | To assess student understanding and skills with regards to providing health care in regional, rural and remote areas, and application of cultural capabilities of respect, communication, safety and quality, reflection and advocacy in relation to providing health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. |
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| Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Online written examination which will include short case scenarios and associated short and extended answer responses. Sample questions will be provided in a seminar during briefing regarding this assessment in Week 12. The written examination will be scheduled during the Examination period around other assessments. Students should note that their answers may be checked via Turnitin software to ensure academic integrity. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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Assessment to competency mapping
| Programme Delivery Mode | Assessment Type | Title | Competency | Teaching Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physiotherapy practice thresholds in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand | ||||
| All delivery modes | Creative Performance, and Written Piece | Health Promotion Assignment | 1.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed |
| 1.3 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.4 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.1 | Assessed | |||
| 3.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.4 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 7.1 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 7.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Online Written Examination | 1.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |
| 1.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.3 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.4 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.1 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.3 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.4 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| Practical / Laboratory Skills, and Written Piece | Telehealth simulated client consultation and skill sharing | 1.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |
| 1.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.3 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.1 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.4 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.5 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 7.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 7.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| Quiz/zes | Revision Quizzes | 1.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |
| 1.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.3 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 1.4 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.1 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 2.3 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 3.3 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.1 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.2 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.4 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 4.5 | Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 5.2 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
| 7.1 | Taught, Practiced, Assessed | |||
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Schedule
| Period and Topic | Activities |
Module 1: Health care in regional, rural and remote settings |
Seminar and workshops |
Module 2: Health Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples |
Seminar and workshops |
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Janie Dade-Smith | 2016 | Australia's Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health | 1 | n/a |
Specific requirements
Not applicable
How are risks managed in this course?
Risk assessments have been performed for all field activities and low to moderate levels of health and safety risk exists. Moderate risks may include working in an Australian bush setting, working with people, working outside normal office hours for example. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: