TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of technology and connectivity issues in general practices in rural New South Wales and their impact on staff capability to perform their job
AU - Leeson-Smith, Margot
AU - Geddes, Louise
AU - Johnson, Heath
AU - Pit, Sabrina
AU - Ramsden, Robyn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Rural Doctors Network. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Objective: To identify the technology and connectivity issues in rural and remote general practices, and the factors independently associated with these issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job. Methods: An annual cross-sectional survey of rural and remote general practice managers. Dependent variables included demographic data, practice size, geographic location, connection type and frequency of connectivity issues. Descriptive statistics are presented, and bivariate logistic regression was undertaken to determine factors independently associated with connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job. Participants: One hundred sixty-eight general practice managers from rural and remote New South Wales. Results: The majority of respondents (87%, n = 146) indicated that technology and connectivity issues had impacted staff's capability to perform their job. Internet problems were the most frequently reported issue (36%, n = 61). In bivariate analysis, practices that had a total clinical staff headcount between 5 and 7 (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.10–0.67; p = 0.005) or between 8 and 11 (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.16–0.95; p = 0.038) were significantly less likely to report technology and connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job, compared with practices with a total clinical headcount of less than five. Conclusions: Technology and connectivity issues persist in rural and remote general practices. This is the first study to demonstrate that technology and connectivity issues impact on rural staff's capability to perform their job. Furthermore, smaller practices face more technology and connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to do their job than larger practices. Further research is required to find solutions to address these challenges.
AB - Objective: To identify the technology and connectivity issues in rural and remote general practices, and the factors independently associated with these issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job. Methods: An annual cross-sectional survey of rural and remote general practice managers. Dependent variables included demographic data, practice size, geographic location, connection type and frequency of connectivity issues. Descriptive statistics are presented, and bivariate logistic regression was undertaken to determine factors independently associated with connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job. Participants: One hundred sixty-eight general practice managers from rural and remote New South Wales. Results: The majority of respondents (87%, n = 146) indicated that technology and connectivity issues had impacted staff's capability to perform their job. Internet problems were the most frequently reported issue (36%, n = 61). In bivariate analysis, practices that had a total clinical staff headcount between 5 and 7 (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.10–0.67; p = 0.005) or between 8 and 11 (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.16–0.95; p = 0.038) were significantly less likely to report technology and connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to perform their job, compared with practices with a total clinical headcount of less than five. Conclusions: Technology and connectivity issues persist in rural and remote general practices. This is the first study to demonstrate that technology and connectivity issues impact on rural staff's capability to perform their job. Furthermore, smaller practices face more technology and connectivity issues that negatively impact staff's capability to do their job than larger practices. Further research is required to find solutions to address these challenges.
KW - general practice
KW - general practitioner
KW - internet
KW - practice manager
KW - primary care
KW - remote
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U2 - 10.1111/ajr.13129
DO - 10.1111/ajr.13129
M3 - Article
C2 - 38706198
AN - SCOPUS:85192135691
SN - 1038-5282
VL - 32
SP - 715
EP - 723
JO - Australian Journal of Rural Health
JF - Australian Journal of Rural Health
IS - 4
ER -