Supporting health students on rural placement to get to know their community

Introduction: Rural Australians face limited access to healthcare, leading to poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts. To address this, the Australian Government funds rural academic units through the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program, supporting nursing, midwifery, and allied health students in undertaking clinical training in rural settings. Aim: This project aimed to develop an online learning module that enhances health students’ understanding of rural communities using different data sources. Methods: We first developed a Health Workforce and Service Need Dashboard tailored for Country SA PHN, integrating data on demographics, health status, workforce distribution, and service utilisation. Data sources included the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU), and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Building on this foundation, we transformed the Dashboard into an interactive online learning module for students undertaking rural placements. The module features engaging videos, assessments, and locally relevant data to enhance students’ understanding of rural health contexts.Relevance and resultsThe online learning module responds to an identified gap in pre-registration health professional training by offering a structured, data-informed learning experience focused on rural communities. It provides students with locally contextualised insights, enhances their understanding of community health needs, and builds transferable data literacy skills. By fostering rural engagement and promoting the use available data in clinical reasoning, the module complements existing curricula and enriches the placement experience. It supports student preparedness for rural practice and encourages sustained commitment to rural health careers, aligning with the strategic objectives of the RHMT program.Conclusions: The module equips students on rural placement with the skills to interpret and apply data visualisation tools, fostering a deeper understanding of their host communities and highlighting the value of quality data in informing clinical decision-making.