Rural and Remote Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022–2027

The Rural and Remote Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022–2027 outlines a whole-of-system approach to achieving health equity for our rural and remote populations.

View a snapshot of the strategy.

Over the next five years, the Rural and Remote Health and Wellbeing Strategy aims to transform the system – to make it more connected and easier to navigate, to empower our consumers and clinicians, to make care relevant, culturally safe and value based, to increase participation in preventative programs and to create sustainable healthcare models now, and into the future.

The Vision

Healthy rural and remote Queenslanders for today and tomorrow.

The Mission

Working together as a system, with diverse communities to provide world-class healthcare to rural and remote Queenslanders that places equity of outcomes at the heart, is human centred, sustainable, and focussed on prevention, promotion, and education.

Strategy Goals

Goal 1 Equity of Health Outcomes

Health equity is the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among specific groups.  These differences are defined by social, economic, demographic and geographical factors. Achieving equity in health outcomes therefore requires the system to address factors that impact health and wellbeing such as safe housing, literacy, employment, isolation, and food security.

Goal 2 Integrated Person-Centred Care

Greater integration across healthcare (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary) and other settings will improve outcomes through the delivery of comprehensive care that is coordinated and aligned to an individual’s preferences for their health and wellbeing. Planning across organisational boundaries, shared-resource arrangements, opportunity for innovation and strong leadership are key to achieving this.

Goal 3 Strong Partnerships

Achieving health equity requires a multi-agency approach to respond to both health needs and its determinants. This requires system participants (health, non-health, public, not-for-profit and private) to forge strong partnerships, align activities, share resources, connect with communities and share accountabilities.

Goal 4 Sustainable, Skilled and Supported Workforce

Creating a long-term, sustainable workforce requires the system to provide both opportunities for immersion in rural and remote clinical practice and the right conditions from career choice through to retirement. Investing in training and development that delivers more care locally and prioritising wellbeing are critical to a sustainable person-centred workforce.

Partner Goals

In addition to the four goals above, this Strategy aligns to existing high-priority initiatives – articulated as partner goals. They are:

Partner Goal First Nations Health Equity

Achieving health equity across the system for First Nations people requires reform – we must see First Nations people across the system, have First Nations voices in the system and design a better coordinated system. This Strategy aligns to the First Nations health equity agenda more broadly, but specifically for rural and remote First Nations people.

Partner Goal Digitally Enabled

A digital health future supports equity of access to healthcare by digitally enabling health services, empowering health consumers to own health outcomes and supporting local care through wearable devices, augmented reality, and high-quality home monitoring. This strategy aligns to the Digital Strategy for Rural and Remote Healthcare.

Contact

If you have any feedback or questions, please contact OfficeofRuralHealth@health.qld.gov.au.

Last updated: 11 February 2022