Rural & Remote Community
According to the ABC TALKS survey, the majority of Australians believe that rural, remote and Indigenous Australians get a "raw deal".
In fact, more than 75 percent of us think that rural, remote and Indigenous Australians do not get treated fairly.
This is not surprising. According to The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare when we see the evidence:
rural and remote Australians will die up to 11 years earlier than a person of the same age in a major city;
potentially preventable hospitalisation rates in Very remote areas were 2.5 times as high as Major cities;
the total disease burden rate in Remote and very remote areas was 1.4 times as high as Major cities;
people in Remote areas were more likely to report barriers accessing GPs and specialists than Major cities; and
access to Full-time equivalent GP services in rural and remote Australia fall significantly below service access in major cities.
A key challenge for rural, remote and Indigenous communities is to gain a voice in decision-making about their health futures.
The Rural and Remote Community HealthCare Surveys have been established by RARMS to give rural, remote and Indigenous Australians a voice in decision making about their health futures.
The surveys will be conducted throughout the year on different aspects of rural and remote primary and secondary care, and reports published on this web site and sent to government to ensure that policy makers understand the views and sentiments of rural, remote and Indigenous communities.
Bookmark this web page or watch out for new surveys on Facebook so you can have your voice heard.