Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39223581›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

The right care in the right place: a scoping review of digital health education and training for rural healthcare workers.

Leanna Woods, Priya Martin, Johnson Khor, Lauren Guthrie, Clair Sullivan

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Online Outcomes of a Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Course for Multidisciplinary Healthcare Professionals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026
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  9. Digital Health Innovation by Design: A Logic Model Scaffold for Rural, Regional, and Remote Settings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Leanna WoodsQueensland Digital Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. lee.woods@uq.edu.au.
Priya MartinRural Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.
Johnson KhorQueensland Digital Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Lauren GuthrieQueensland Digital Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Clair SullivanQueensland Digital Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDigital health offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance health service delivery across vast geographic regions. However, these benefits can only be realized with effective capabilities and clinical leadership of the rural healthcare workforce. Little is known about how rural healthcare workers acquire skills in digital health, how digital health education or training programs are evaluated and the barriers and enablers for high quality digital health education and training.

objectiveTo conduct a scoping review to identify and synthesize existing evidence on digital health education and training of the rural healthcare workforce. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Sources that reported digital health and education or training in the healthcare workforce in any healthcare setting outside metropolitan areas.

methodsWe searched for published and unpublished studies written in English in the last decade to August 2023. The databases searched were PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL and Education Resources Information Centre. We also searched the grey literature (Google, Google Scholar), conducted citation searching and stakeholder engagement. The JBI Scoping Review methodology and PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews were used.

resultsFive articles met the eligibility criteria. Two case studies, one feasibility study, one micro-credential and one fellowship were described. The mode of delivery was commonly modular online learning. Only one article described an evaluation, and findings showed the train-the-trainer model was technically and pedagogically feasible and well received. A limited number of barriers and enablers for high quality education or training of the rural healthcare workforce were reported across macro (legal, regulatory, economic), meso (local health service and community) and micro (day-to-day practice) levels.

conclusionsUpskilling rural healthcare workers in digital health appears rare. Current best practice points to flexible, blended training programs that are suitably embedded with interdisciplinary and collaborative rural healthcare improvement initiatives. Future work to advance the field could define rural health informatician career pathways, address concurrent rural workforce issues, and conduct training implementation evaluations. REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/N2RMX .

Indexed as

Rural Health ServicesHealth PersonnelHumansClinical informaticsDigital healthEducationHealth informaticiansHealth personnelLow-resource settingsRural healthRural populationTeaching

Identifiers

PMID39223581
PMCPMC11370102

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.