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Objective Despite increases in Commonwealth funded general practice (GP) Registrar training positions, workforce trends continue to show geographical maldistribution. This study aimed to identify Registrar attributes which describe a cohort choosing to work in rural practice. Design Cross-sectional self-report questionnaire for socio-demographics, prior training, current training pathway, measures of personality and resilience. Participants and Setting GP Registrars ( N = 452) training in either the general or rural pathways of three Registered Training Providers in three states, or training through the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine's independent pathway. Main outcome measure Ordinal logistic regression tested the impact of key variables on the likelihood that Registrars would settle in rural practice. Univariate analysis explored differences between groups and effects of variables. Results A significantly increased interest in rural practice was to found to exist among registrars who were male, identified themselves as being rural, had a partner who identified as being rural, were enrolled in a rural training pathway and had high levels of Cooperativeness. Conclusion We present a discriminating model combining socio-demographics, prior training and personality variables which challenges Australia to rethink Registrar attributes when training for rural general practice. With significant changes about to occur to GP training in Australia, this paper highlights the need for a more holistic approach which considers personal attributes such as Cooperativeness, rural identity and provision of geographically focused rural training pipelines to encourage Registrars to bond to individual rural communities and further develop their personal connectedness to country life and rural medical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Pregnant women have been identified as high users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, no research to date has provided a detailed analysis of the prevalence and determinants of CAM consumption amongst pregnant women. Aim To examine the prevalence and determinants of CAM use by pregnant women, utilising a national representative sample. Methods The study sample was obtained via the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. This paper is based on a sub-study of 1,835 pregnant women, administered in 2010. The women answered questions about CAM use, demographics, pregnancy-related health concerns and health service utilisation. Results Complementary and alternative medicine use was found to be high with 48.1% ( n = 623) of pregnant women consulting a CAM practitioner and 52.0% ( n = 842) of women using CAM products (excluding vitamins and minerals) during pregnancy. CAM practitioner visits were more likely for selected pregnancy-related health concerns, namely back pain or back ache, neck pain and labour preparation. Women were less likely to consult a CAM practitioner if they suffered with headaches/migraines. Employment was also found to be predictive of pregnant women's visits to a CAM practitioner. Significant health history and demographic predictors of CAM product use were tiredness and fatigue, embarking on preparation for labour and having a university education. Conclusion Most pregnant women are utilising CAM products and/or services as part of their maternity care and obstetricians, general practitioners and midwives need to enquire with women in their care about possible CAM use to help promote safe, effective coordinated maternity care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This paper examines how negative experiences with the health-care system create a lack of confidence in receiving medical care in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Methods The empirical analysis is based on data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey 2007, with nationally representative samples of adults aged 18 and over. For the analysis of the experience of cost barriers and confidence in receiving medical care, we conducted pairwise comparisons of group percentages as well as country-wise multivariate logistic regression models. Results Individuals who have experienced cost barriers show a significantly lower level of confidence in receiving safe and quality medical care than those who have not. This effect is most pronounced in the United States, where people who have foregone necessary treatment because of costs are four times as likely to lack confidence as individuals without the experience of cost barriers (adjusted odds ratio 4.00). In New Zealand, Germany, and Canada, individuals with the experience of cost barriers are twice as likely to report low confidence compared with those without this experience (adjusted odds ratios of 1.95, 2.19 and 2.24, respectively). In the Netherlands and UK, cost barriers are only a marginal phenomenon. Conclusions The fact that the experience of financial barriers considerably lowers confidence indicates that financial incentives, such as private co-payments, have a negative effect on overall public support and therefore on the legitimacy of health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]