Supporting nursing and allied health students to undertake placements in rural and remote Australia is an important element in rural health workforce strategy which seeks to address the maldistribution of healthcare professionals.
These placements aim to expose students to rural practice and rural life, increasing the likelihood of them working in these areas after they graduate. Understanding the community in which you learn, or work is vital to ensure place-based, and person-centred care.
As an introduction to studying in the Derwent Valley, the University’s allied health students accessed images, written stories, audio and ‘go find me’ games to help them better connect with this community and place.
The ‘Community through our eyes’ project set out to engage with community by asking what it means to belong to and connect to a place and to present these sentiments visually.
To emphasise the importance of community assets, an Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) framework was used. The community took ownership of the process and shared their stories of local skills, place, knowledge, and champions.
Using disposable cameras, community were invited to take photos that represent belonging and place. These images were paired with the story, poetry or words that revealed what matters most to the community: the people they cherish, the places that feel like home, culture and shared tales, bringing power and strength to this exhibition.
This community-based action research project embraces a photo voice approach to taking photographs, sharing and displaying them, and growing narratives that will develop qualitative information to inform the work, research, and practice of the CRH in supporting high-quality nursing and allied health rural placements in the region.