The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Barriers And Facilitators to Accessing Medical Services in Rural And Remote Australia: A systematic review
Open accessAbstract
Objective: This qualitative review aims to identify and list the barriers and facilitators to accessing medical services for rural and remote Australians, within the current literature to inform policy development and highlight the need for further research. Methods: The review was guided by the PRISMA method. Boolean search strings identified relevant articles using the Griffith University Library electronic catalogue. The study included only English language research articles published between August 31st, 2018 and August 31st, 2021, focusing on facilitators and barriers within the Australian context considering both access and rurality/remoteness. Results: Thematic analysis of six articles identified ten barriers: communication, confidentiality, fear and shame, funding, geography, health behaviours, reliance on others, service provision, staffing, transport; and eight facilitators: collaboration/partnerships, communication, cultural safety funding, service provision, staffing, and telehealth, to accessing medical services in rural and remote Australia. Conclusion: Ten barriers and eight facilitators to accessing medical services in rural and remote Australia were identified and listed from six articles identified through a qualitative review. This review identified a research gap regarding understanding the underlying challenges behind these barriers and facilitators and the implications for policy implementation to improve access to medical services.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Additionally, living in a small community reduces anonymity and confidentiality, increasing hopelessness and shame when raising substance problems with local healthcare providers (McCann & Lubman, 2018”
From Online community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) for rural concerned significant others: A randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Thorn & Olley, 2023
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The geographical distance between these limited services can mean significantly large travel distances for rural Australians, compounded by fewer transport options (Thorn & Olley, 2023”
From Online community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) for rural concerned significant others: A randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Thorn & Olley, 2023
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Page, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.n160 · Cited by 13,262
Page, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T., mulrow, C., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J., Akl, E., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/gwdhk · Cited by 916
Research works printed but not linked: 25
- Shukla N, Pradhan B, Dikshit A, Chakraborty S, Alamri AM. A Review of Models Used for Investigating Barriers to Healthcare Access in Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020 Jun 8;17(11):4087.
- Smith KB, Humphreys JS, Wilson MG. Addressing the health disadvantage of rural populations: How does epidemiological evidence inform rural health policies and research?. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 2008;16(2):56-66.
- Macaulay B, McHugh N, Steiner A. Public perspectives on health improvement within a remote-rural island community. Health Expectations: an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy. 2021;24(4):1286-99.
- Barriers And Fac ilitators to Accessing Medic al Services in Rural And Remote Australia: A systematic review. 9 Asia Pacific Journal of Healt h Management 2023; 18(1):i1755. doi: 10.24083/apjhm.v18i1.1755
- Russell DJ, Zhao Y, Guthridge S, Ramjan M, Jones MP, Humphreys JS, et al. Patterns of resident health workforce turnover and retention in remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia, 2013- 2015. Hum Resour Health. 2017;15(1):52.
- Afshar N, English DR, Chamberlain JA, Blakely T, Thursfield V, Farrugia H et al. Differences in cancer survival by remoteness of residence: an analysis of data from a population-based cancer registry. Cancer Causes & Control. 2020;31(7):617-629.
- Dwyer M, Francis K, Peterson GM, Ford K, Gall S, Phan H, et al. Regional differences in the care and outcomes of acute stroke patients in Australia: an observational study using evidence from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (AuSCR). BMJ Open. 2021 Apr;11(4):e040418.
- Jacobs J, Peterson KL, Allender S, Alston LV, Nichols M. Regional variation in cardiovascular mortality in Australia 2009-2012: the impact of remoteness and socioeconomic status. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2018;42(5):467-473.
- Jessop S, Ruhayel S, Sutton R, Youlden DR, Pearson G, Lu C, et al. Are outcomes for childhood leukaemia in Australia influenced by geographical remoteness and Indigenous race? Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2021 Feb 9;68(4).
- Gardiner FW, Bishop L, McMahon K, Nwose EU, Connor S, Begun J, et al. Aeromedical retrievals for gastrointestinal disorders in rural and remote Australia: the need for improved access to specialist advice. Internal Medicine Journal. 2020 May;50(5):619-23.
- Obeng-Gyasi S, Timsina L, Bhattacharyya O, Fisher CS, Haggstrom DA. Breast Cancer Presentation, Surgical Management and Mortality Across the Rural-Urban Continuum in the National Cancer Database. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2020 Mar 23;27(6):1805-15.
- Taye BW, Clark PJ, Hartel G, Powell EE, Valery PC. Remoteness of residence predicts tumor stage, receipt of treatment, and mortality in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. JGH Open. 2021 Jun 5;5(7):754-62.
- Thompson SC, Nedkoff L, Katzenellenbogen J, Hussain MA, Sanfilippo F. Challenges in Managing Acute Cardiovascular Diseases and Follow Up Care in Rural Areas: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019 Dec 15;16(24):5126.
- Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman D. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2009;62(10):1006-1012.
- Beasley S. Understanding the responsibilities and obligations of the modern paediatric surgeon. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2015;50(2):223-231.
- Kornelsen J, McCartney K, Williams K. Satisfaction and sustainability: A realist review of decentralized models of perinatal surgery for rural women. Rural and Remote Health. 2016;16(2):3749-3749.
- Fitts MS, Humphreys J, Dunbar T, Bourke L, Mulholland E, Guthridge S, et al. Understanding and responding to the cost and health impact of short-term health staffing in remote and rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health services: a mixed methods study protocol. BMJ Open. 2021;11(8):e043902.
- Wakerman J, Sparrow L, Thomas SL, Humphreys JS, Jones M. Equitable resourcing of primary health care in remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory: a pilot study. BMC Family Practice. 2017;18(1):75.
- Corscadden L, Levesque JF, Lewis V, Strumpf E, Breton M, Russell G. Factors associated with multiple barriers to access to primary care: an international analysis. International Journal for Equity in Health [Internet]. 2018 [cited 31 October 2021];17(1). Available from: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A546082367/AONE?u =griffith&sid=summon&xid=c68d773b Barriers And Fac ilitators to Accessing Medic al Services in Rural And Remote Australia: A systematic review. 10 Asia Pacific Journal of Healt h Management 2023; 18(1):i1755. doi: 10.24083/apjhm.v18i1.1755
- Dolan E, Allott K, Proposch A, Hamilton M, Killackey E. Youth access clinics in Gippsland: Barriers and enablers to service accessibility in rural settings. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 2020;14(6):734-740.
- Keeves J, Braaf SC, Ekegren CL, Beck B, Gabbe BJ. Access to Healthcare Following Serious Injury: Perspectives of Allied Health Professionals in Urban and Regional Settings. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(3):1230.
- Nolan-Isles D, Macniven R, Hunter K, Gwynn J, Lincoln M, Moir R et al. Enablers and Barriers to Accessing Healthcare Services for Aboriginal People in New South Wales, Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(6):3014.
- Street TD, Somoray K, Richards GC, Lacey SJ. Continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions from rural or remote Australia: A systematic review. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 2019;27(3):196-202.
- Taylor D, Lange J, Laurence C, Beilby J, Kitson A, Barrie H et al. General practice access in regional and remote Australia for ageing populations. Geographical Research. 2020;59(1):6-15.
- Warwick S, Atkinson D, Kitaura T, LeLievre M, Marley JV. Young Aboriginal People's Perspective on Access to Health Care in Remote Australia: Hearing Their Voices. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action. 2019;13(2):171-181.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Gray, H., Ivory, N., Snowdon, N., Ahmed, K. Y., Thomas, M., & Allan, J. (2026) · Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.josat.2025.209867 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Thorn, H., & Olley, R.
- Affiliations
- Griffith University (AU)
- ORCID
- Olley, Richard
- Venue
- Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
- Published
- 2023-04-08
- ISSN
- 1833-3818 (ISSN-L)
- 2204-3136
- OpenAlex
- W4362718782
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Health Workforce Issues
- Social Sciences › Health › Public Health and Social Inequalities
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare Quality and Satisfaction
- Keywords
- health care access, rural health, remote health, barriers to health care access, health communication, confidentiality, fear and shame, health funding, telemedicine, healthcare staffing, transport barriers, cultural safety, health policy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review