Place-based health promotion and prevention in rural schools: A community approach

Introduction / Background: The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) demonstrated that children living in rural and remote parts of Australia are twice as likely to start school with a developmental vulnerability compared to their metropolitan counterparts. In the community of Lachlan, NSW almost a third (29.2%) of children have been identified as vulnerable in one or more AEDC domains. This is particularly concerning when reflecting on the rural workforce challenges and limited health service access in the area.
Aims: The Lachlan program is a work-integrated learning experience that utilises local connections to create student-led health prevention in schools. The Lachlan program aims to increase students’ professional capabilities to help them form a professional identity relevant to a rural context, whilst increasing the host organisation’s capacity to identify vulnerability in children and implement preventative strategies by developing skills of the local educators and support staff.
Method: Allied health students from the disciplines of occupational therapy, speech pathology and physiotherapy undertake a rotation of work-integrated learning blocks of between five- and eight-weeks length in local schools. The purpose of these placements is for students to identify evidence-based health prevention strategies applicable to educational settings and directly relevant to the needs of an identified cohort of children. Unique to this program is the emphasis and approach to embedding students within the community and implementing strategies to form connections and belonging. This is facilitated through the community partnership in which the placement supervision, cultural mentorship, and pastoral support is all provided by locals.
Results & Conclusion: The Lachlan program has hosted four speech pathology, four occupational therapy, and two physiotherapy students since commencement in October 2022. The presenters will reflect on their journey in creating this program including the structured evaluation, lessons learned and transferability to other rural communities. They will also showcase some of the school-based health prevention resources created by the allied health students.