Recommendations keynote : communique and Conference recommendations

The Conference's 18 priority recommendations are presented. Two of the issues have been included in each of the nine biannual conferences. This Conference agrees that Indigenous life expectancy is still unacceptably low, and that there is still insufficient focus in national health research efforts on rural and remote communities. Issues raised in other recommendations include: the impacts of the current drought and water shortages on rural community and family wellbeing; structured support and development programs, including mental health and first aid training, should be provided through rural human service workers and agricultural support workers; ensuring that people with a mental illness in rural areas receive care equal to that received by patients in metropolitan areas; the value of arts activities as a means of communicating health messages; supporting rural placements in undergraduate and vocational training of health students to increase the likelihood of practice in a rural area; and the provision of ongoing funding for health programs that have received a positive evaluation.