Investigating rural health research culture and capacity in western New South Wales

Addressing health inequity for rural and remote Australians is a stated priority of the Australian Government. While National Health and Medical Research Council funding for rural health-related research has increased over the years, at 2.4% in 2018, it appears very low given the extent of the health status and health service deficits faced by the 30% of people who live in rural Australia. A key focus of rural Local Health Districts (LHDs) in NSW has been to build place-based research capacity by engaging clinicians, managers and executives in growing a stronger research culture, as it is well documented that rural health research improves health outcomes for rural patients and communities. The aim of this study was to understand Western New South Wales LHD (WNSWLHD) and Far West LHD (FWLHD) staff perceptions of research capacity, barriers and facilitators to research to inform the development of strategies and policies to improve the research capacity and culture.