Projects and Research
Rural Health Academic Network
The Rural Health Academic Network is a University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health, health workforce initiative which partners directly with rural health organisations to:
- Build innovation in rural health care,
- Promote research translation into rural clinical practice,
- Support rural health student placements
- Enhance retention of existing rural clinicians through post graduate research and education opportunities.
- Maintain and progress an evidence base which advances the rural health agenda.
RHAN Co Ordinator YDMH
Through a network of rural health academics placed in the local health services, RHAN coordinators work with clinicians from multiple disciplines by applying systematic enquiry and education to facilitate local clinical research in addition to collaborative network wide research.
RHAN coordinators work closely with their respective health services in applying structures for ethical governance of research activity that embeds an evidenced based approach into practice
Through RHAN, rural health care practitioners have the support of the University, and the University has direct links to the health services and the community.
RHAN projects and publications reflect the diversity of rural health and the individual clinical research and workforce priorities of our partner organisations.
Presentations
Current Projects
Navigating Loss, Bereavement and Grief in Rural Residential Aged Care Nursing
Navigating loss, bereavement and grief in rural residential aged care nursing: A qualitative study on the experiences of those caring for long-term acquaintances in residential aged care.
This research – a tripartite project between YDMH, Kellock Lodge and Darlingford UG Nursing Home – aims to explore how rural aged care nurses/caregivers navigate loss, bereavement and grief when caring for aged care residents they have known for some time or, in some cases, all of their lives. This includes those who develop dementia and undergo significant personality changes.
Given the close-knit nature of rural communities, nurses and other carers have often formed personal connections with their residents prior to them entering residential aged care.
This study will employ qualitative methods to capture the emotional, psychological, functional and professional challenges these nurses and carers face when residents either die, or suffer personality changes due to dementia, and identify coping mechanisms and support systems that help them manage this process.
The findings will contribute to an increased awareness of the grieving and bereavement process on rural aged care workers, improving support structures to support that process and enhancing quality of care provided to residents.
Implementation of the HIRAID® documentation tool into the
Hume Local Service Health Network.
This study aims to evaluate Emergency and Urgent Care nurses’ perceptions of self-efficacy, the work environment, and interprofessional communication before and after the implementation of the HIRAID® framework.
The HIRAID® (History [including infection risk], Red flags, Assessment, Interventions, Diagnostics, Communication and Reassessment) framework was developed to enable an evidence-based, systematic, and consistent approach to patient assessment and care by Emergency and Urgent Care nurses. HIRAID® is the only validated framework designed to teach such nurses how to systematically assess and manage emergency patients after the triage process. It combines all essential elements in the delivery of safe, quality nursing care.
It has been successfully piloted with nurses across rural, regional, and metropolitan EDs for usability and has demonstrated improved quality of nursing assessment in simulated environments. HIRAID® is already in routine clinical use in several Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres in New South Wales and Victoria.
Hospitals in the Hume Network are preparing to implement HIRAID® across their sixteen Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres. This study aims to explore emergency nurses’ perceptions of self-efficacy, work environment, and interprofessional communication in the context of HIRAID® implementation.
A mixed-methods design will be used. Quantitative data will be collected through a pre-post test study using validated survey tools to measure changes in nurses’ perceptions across all Emergency Departments (EDs) and Urgent Care Centres (UCCs) in the Hume Local Service Health Network.
In addition, qualitative data will be gathered from nurses working in Urgent Care Centres—typically smaller settings that often operate without on-site medical support. These nurses will be invited to participate in audio-recorded interviews conducted three to six months following HIRAID® implementation, to explore their experiences and perceptions in greater depth.
Oral Cancer Screening in Victorian Agricultural Communities
Oral cancer remains a significant public health concern in Australia, with cases slowly increasing each year. If caught early, oral cancer can often be treated successfully, but many cases are still identified at advanced stages, when the chances of survival are much lower.
The researchers aim to use a special digital health tool, MouthMap, to facilitate accessible oral cancer screening for people in rural areas by primary care health providers. MouthMap enables oral medicine specialists to evaluate high-resolution images of an individual’s oral cavity and provide expert guidance by remote, eliminating the need for long distance travel.
By partnering with healthcare providers in rural communities, the researchers hope this approach will promote early detection of oral cancer for individuals living in remote areas, and ensure timely access to specialised care regardless of their geographical location relative to major urban centres, where most cancer specialists are concentrated.
The Innovative Model of Care Project: Our Community Our Children
Grant funding success to trial outreach allied health clinics for young children in Murrindindi Shire
Working together Murrindindi Health and Community Services have partnered to successfully secure a $1.4 million Federal Government grant to fund the ‘Our Community Our Children’ project.
Yea and District Memorial Hospital, in collaboration with key partners Menzies Support Services, Alexandra District Health and the University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health, will led this four-year project which sees the placement of supervised final-year allied health students in six early learning sites (listed below) across Murrindindi Shire. The allied health students will deliver critical services such as developmental health screening, individual assessments, provision of information, service navigation support, referrals for children with additional needs, and education for parents and educators.
The initiative, funded by the Federal Government under its innovative Models of Care grant scheme, is one of 11 healthcare projects based in rural and remote Australia.
Access to Paediatric Allied Health Practitioners is very limited in our Shire and early education data reveals Murrindindi has a far higher percentage of children at risk of developmental delay than the rest of the State (Australian Early Childhood Census, 2021). The Our Community Our Children project aims to address this situation by improving access to allied health practitioners thereby supporting better outcomes for our children.
By increasing access to high-quality allied health services, we anticipate early detection and timely intervention for young children with key health and developmental challenges. It is anticipated this intervention will facilitate better preparedness for school and ultimately better educational outcomes.
The project team will work with community members to co-design the delivery of the services that are bespoke to local needs. The disciplines delivering services will be determined according to need but are likely include speech therapy, occupational therapy and other paediatric supports.
Operating from July 2024 to December 2027, the Our Community Our Children project will adopt a staged implementation approach across six communities, working closely with early years services across Murrindindi Shire, including:
- Yea – Yea Uniting Early Learning Centre
- Flowerdale – Flowerdale Kindergarten
- Kinglake – Kinglake Ranges Children’s Centre
- Alexandra – Alexandra Kindergarten
- Eildon – Eildon Kindergarten
- Marysville – Marysville Preschool and Kindergarten
An active partnership with the University of Melbourne Going Rural Health team has been established to schedule and coordinate student service learning placements to support student-led clinics in each community. Students will receive supervision and mentorship from qualified practitioners in their respective disciplines.
Yea and District Memorial Hospital Cattle Sale Clinics: How a Small Rural Hospital Redefined its Delivery of Care.
The University of Melbourne Human Ethics Approval 2024-29330-56118-3.
Yea and District Memorial Hospital has secured a$50,000 grant from the Violet Vines Marshman Centre. This funding will support the continued delivery of the successful Yea Saleyards Healthcare Program and potentially enable the replication of the model within the local community and across regional areas.
The Yea Saleyards Healthcare Program, developed by the Yea and District Memorial Hospital (YDMH) team in October 2023, aims to bring healthcare services to the farming and broader community.
Over the past nine months, attendees at the sale have had access to a range of health services including skin, hearing and eyesight checks; cardiac health assessments; diabetes education; flu vaccinations; and mental health and drug and alcohol support program. These services are provided one Friday per month at the cattle sale. The program has exceeded expectations, prompting YDMH to seek funding to expand services at the Saleyards.
A member of the local farming community described the value of the program – “We think we’re bulletproof and only see a doctor if we’re really crook, but you are right here under our noses at the sale – it’s a wonderful service.”
The Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research is embedded within the La Trobe Rural Health School. The Centre provides grant opportunities annually to short term projects that directly improve the health or well-being of people living in rural and remote locations.
The grant will fund additional specialist and allied health services as part of the existing program. It will also support a comprehensive evaluation through YDMH’s partnership with the University of Melbourne Rural Health Academic Network (RHAN), which will help develop a transferable healthcare model. Additionally, the grant will enable two trial programs within the local area and support the expansion of the program into other communities.
“Being awarded this prestigious and highly sought after grant really validates our Saleyards Program and will enable us to evaluate it, expand it and promote it to other organisations and regions to support farmers’ health and wellbeing more broadly” – Jennifer Keast, RHAN Researcher based at YDMH.
Pictured: Project manager Naomi McNamara, YDHM CEO Elizabeth Sinclair and RHAN Researcher Jennifer Keast.
Publications
YDMH Saleyards Farmer Health Program
Implementation Guidelines
Implementation Guidelines: About This Document
The contents of this document are grounded in the practical experiences, observations, and reflections of the team involved in the design and delivery of the Yea and District Memorial Hospital (YDMH) – The Yea Saleyards Farmer Health Program (the Saleyards Program) – over the past two years. While not all elements outlined in this guide were implemented from the outset, they represent components that, in hindsight, have been identified as essential for the effective governance, sustainability, and scalability of the Program.
The Saleyards Program itself began as a small, community-driven idea that rapidly grew in scope and impact—often outpacing the team’s available resources and initial planning frameworks. On reflection, we recognise that many of the processes and structures described here would have been invaluable if established earlier. This guide, therefore, reflects the lessons learned through practical experience and the knowledge we wish we had at the program’s inception.
By sharing both operational processes and retrospective insights, this guide aims to offer a practical and realistic foundation for others in the rural health and community sector.
Biomed Central Health Services Research. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):875.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12935-y
Facilitators and barriers to provision of hospital in the home: does geographical location matter? A scoping review
Kristen Glenister 1, Ryan L McGrath 1,2,3, Rowan O’Hagan 1,4, Ka Chun Tse 5, Jennifer Keast 1,6, Lucinda Aberdeen 1
Where Farmers Gather: Embedding Health
Research In Rural Community Spaces
Author: Dr Jennifer Keast, Research Coordinator, Rural Health
Academic Network / Yea & District Memorial Hospital
Issue: 93
December 17, 2025