When you’re the only clinician on shift and juggling emergencies, chronic care, and community needs, “best practice” can feel a long way from the bush. CRANAplus Chief RAN Heather Keighley shares how that’s now changing.
Led by Professor Michael Kidd AM, the newly established National Primary Health Care Research Consortium is bringing together leading researchers, universities, peak bodies, and clinicians to generate research that actually fits rural and remote realities – and turns it into practical change. This is research built with the bush, not for it from afar.
What the consortium will do
- Identify priority research areas that reflect community needs and frontline realities
- Strengthen national collaboration and reduce duplication of effort
- Build PHC workforce research capability across roles and regions
- Translate findings rapidly into policy and practice
Why it matter for rural and remote nurses and midwives
- Rural and remote needs are front and centre: Issues you grapple with every day –retention, scope of practice, cultural safety, tech that actually works out bush – are now core to the national research plan.
- Clinicians aren’t just “participants” – you can lead: There’ll be training, mentorship, and funded collaborations so nurses and midwives can shape questions, lead studies, and apply results.
- Better evidence to influence funding and policy: Policy and funding decisions gain credibility and traction when grounded in evidence that reflects the realities of remote practice. The Consortium will provide a mechanism to generate that evidence at scale.
- Sharper answers on what works: From nurse-led models to integrated teams, the Consortium will evaluate, refine, and expand what delivers better care for patients and safer practice for staff.
“For the first time, rural and remote nursing expertise will directly shape Australia’s national PHC research agenda.”
Leadership with a rural lens
Professor Michael Kidd AM brings deep experience in general practice, primary care leadership, and global health.
His approach emphasises collaboration across disciplines, respect for lived experience and community knowledge, strengthening the PHC workforce, and ensuring research leads to practical, implementable change – an approach that aligns strongly with the values of rural and remote nursing and midwifery.
Nursing voices are embedded in governance
- Chair: Nurse Practitioner Rebecca Sedgeman (Australian College of Nurse Practitioners)
- Co-Chair: Heather Keighley, Chief RAN, CRANAplus
Both roles sit on the project steering committee, ensuring the Advisory Group’s input shapes decisions at every level.
Five research themes, one shared goal
Together, five research groups are leading complementary themes that build the evidence base for sustainable, team-based primary care across Australia.
CRESTRA (Centre for Research Excellence for Strengthening Health Systems in Remote Australia), Menzies School of Health Research, NT
Theme 1: What MDT-based primary care models optimise health outcomes, workforce satisfaction, and experience of care?
PROACT (Promoting Responsive and Optimal Approaches for Collaborative Team-based Care), University of Wollongong
Theme 2: What are the key components of high-quality, comprehensive, accessible and equitable MDT-based primary care?
ARIIA (Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia), Flinders University
Theme 3: What outcome measures can compare the effectiveness of different models?
MAMP (Melbourne Alliance to implement Multidisciplinary Primary Care), University of Melbourne
Theme 4: What is the cost-effectiveness, feasibility, scalability, acceptability and sustainability of different MDT-based models across settings?
SPHERE (Better sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women through primary care), Monash University
Theme 5: What is the best approach to implementing the key components of models of care in different settings?
What this looks like on the ground
- Clear guidance on what works in clinics like yours (and what doesn’t).
- Better-supported teams and advanced generalist roles.
- Stronger evidence to back your service design and funding cases.
- Practical tools and measures to track outcomes and improve care.
Get involved
Rural and remote nurses and midwives will be central to shaping priorities, participating in studies, and translating findings into practice. Keep an eye out for opportunities to take part in priority-setting workshops, join collaborative projects, share lived experience, and champion evidence-informed care in your service.
