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The perceived disadvantage faced by high school students from rural areas in pursuing higher education is often associated with the fact that these areas are by default affected by socio-economic disadvantages. The analysis of the results from the high school baccalaureate examination for Romania, which is mandatory for admission to higher education, and which plays a major role in ranking the applicants, shows the potential outcomes of the university admission policy targeting high school baccalaureate holders from rural areas. Under different scenarios, this can lead to either targeted admission places being allocated to students that would have been otherwise successfully admitted by competing on general admission places or could have helped students from other disadvantaged backgrounds. These results may help as a basis for guiding policy designs that can better target admission places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs imprinting theory, cultural capital theory, and upper echelon theory to investigate the influence of the rural upbringing of board chairpersons on corporate R&D (Research and Development) and advertising expenditures, as well as the moderating impact of the chairperson's marketing and financial experience in the competitive market environment. A binary dataset was compiled, comprising 1058 Chinese listed companies and 5434 board chairpersons as samples. Through multiple regression analysis, we established a link between board chairpersons' rural backgrounds and short-term marketing expenditures. The findings indicate that chairpersons' rural upbringing negatively affects R&D and advertising expenditures. Additionally, marketing experience exerts a negative moderating influence on R&D expenditure, whereas financial experience does not exhibit a significant moderating effect. Furthermore, the market growth rate positively moderates the relationship between the chairman's rural background and R&D as well as advertising expenditures. This suggests that the external competitive environment may attenuate the conservative imprint associated with a rural upbringing. This study departs from the conventional paradigm of understanding short-term spending based solely on economic incentives, incorporating non-economic factors rooted in individual cognition and values. It introduces a fresh perspective to the examination of myopic spending and contributes to the exploration of how birthplace impacts corporate decision making. These findings offer a deeper comprehension of how the background of chairpersons influences firms' decision-making behavior, providing valuable insights for top executives in crafting strategies and making informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maldistribution of podiatrists limits capacity to address the footcare needs of the population. Understanding factors that impact recruitment and retention of Australian podiatrists is a key solution. The primary aim of this study was to describe factors related to rural podiatry work, and overall professional retention amongst Australian podiatrists. Methods: We used data collected from the most recent relevant response of a cohort of Australian podiatrists between 2017 and 2020 of four online surveys. Person and job role variables known to impact current work and retention were collected. Logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with rural work and intent to leave direct patient care or the profession entirely. Results: There were 1129 podiatrists (21% of 5429) who participated in at least one of the survey waves. Podiatrists who had a rural background (30%) were less likely to work in a metropolitan location (OR = 0.20, 95%CI = 0.11,0.37). Podiatrists who undertook a regional/rural placement during their undergraduate education (43%) were more likely to work in a metropolitan location (OR = 1.86, 95%CI = 1.38,2.51). Podiatrists who indicated they were planning to leave direct patient care within 5 years (n = 282, 26%), were less satisfied with working conditions (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.66, 0.92), less satisfied with opportunities to use their abilities (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.99), perceived less personal accomplishment (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.86, 0.94) and less job satisfaction (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.91, 0.98). Podiatrists who indicated that they were planning to leave podiatry work entirely within 5 years (n = 223, 21%), were less satisfied with opportunities to use their abilities (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.62, 0.88), agreed they had a poor support network from other podiatrists (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.61), had less job satisfaction (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.86, 0.94), and did not have access to paid annual leave (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.38, 0.99). Conclusion: Findings suggest ways to promote rural work, including selecting university students with rural backgrounds, and optimising the experience of rural placements which currently predict metropolitan practice. To retain podiatrists, it is important to ensure access to leave, professional support, and appropriate physical working conditions. Further research is required to understand why intention to leave is so high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many factors contribute to engagement in rural and remote (RR) medical practice, but little is known about the factors associated with rural and remote medical practice in such remote locations as the Maluku Province of Indonesia. This study describes factors associated with actual RR practice, preferred RR practice, and intention to remain practice in Maluku Province.Methods: An online survey of work-related experience and intentions for future rural work was administered to 410 doctors working in the Maluku province of Indonesia. Participant characteristics were described using descriptive statistics, associations between the independent variables with the location of the workforce, intention to remain practice in Maluku, preference for future RR practice in Maluku were analysed using Chi-square tests and logistic regression.Results: A total of 324 responses (79% response rate) were recorded, comprising 70% females and 30% Pattimura University graduates of doctors employed in Maluku. Doctors working in RR areas were more likely to be a GP (OR 3.49, CI 1.03-11.8), have a monthly salary of more than IDR 6 million (OR 11.5, CI 4.24-31.1), and have no additional practice (OR 2.78, CI 1.34-5.78). Doctors intended to stay practice in Maluku were more likely to be born in Maluku (OR 7.77, CI 3.42-17.7) and have graduated from Pattimura University (OR 3.06, CI 1.09-8.54), and less likely to be a temporary employee (OR 0.24, CI 0.10-0.57). Doctors who prefer future RR practice in Maluku were more likely to experience rural living (OR 2.05 CI 1.05-3.99), have a positive indication of the impact of community exposure during medical schools on their current practice (OR 2.08, CI 1.06-4.09), currently practising in RR Maluku (OR 8.23, CI 3.27-20.8); and less likely to have bigger take-home pay (OR 0.30, CI 0.13-0.70).Conclusion: This study indicates that special attention should be given to recruiting doctors with a rural background and ongoing support through attractive opportunities to build a sustainable RR workforce. Since a regional medical school helps supply doctors to the RR areas in its region, a sustained collaboration between medical schools and local government implementing relevant strategies are needed to widen participation and improve the recruitment and retention of RR doctors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution by particulate matter (PM) is recognized as a one of the most important environmental issue. A particular attention is being paid to fine PM fraction (PM2.5, PM1.0) due to its detrimental impact on human health and long-term persistence in the air. Presented work is an in-depth bibliometric study on the concentrations and chemical composition of PM2.5 among 27 rural and 38 urban/urban background stations dispersed across the Europe. Obtained results indicate that the chemical composition of PM2.5, in terms of mass concentrations and percentage contribution of main chemical constituents, is relatively different in various parts of Europe. Urban and urban background stations are typically characterized by higher share of total carbon (TC) in PM2.5, compared to rural background sites, mostly pronounced during the heating periods. The share of the secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) is typically higher at rural background stations, especially in North-Western Europe. In general, the relative contribution of SIA in PM2.5 mass, both at rural and urban background stations, showed more or less pronounced seasonal variation, opposite to Polish measurement sites. Moreover, Poland stands out from the majority of the European stations by strong dominance of total carbon over secondary inorganic aerosol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the factors eligible applicants consider in electing for a rural pathway into specialty training. Design Cohort study. Setting Australia. Participants Applicants to the Australian General Practice Training program. Main outcome measures Applicants' initial preference of either a general or rural pathway to undertake specialty training. Results Of the 2,221 applicants, 45% were Australian Medical Graduates ( AMGs), 27% Foreign Graduates of Accredited Medical Schools ( FGAMS) and 29% International Medical Graduates ( IMGs). Through government regulation, two thirds (70%) were eligible to train on both general and rural pathways and a third (30%) were required to train rurally. For applicants eligible for general pathway (n = 1552), those with rural background [Odds Ratio ( OR) = 3.7, 95% CI 2.7-5.2] and rural clinical school experience ( OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.5-2.8) were more likely to choose the rural pathway. In addition, FGAMS who were eligible for the general pathway were less likely to choose a rural pathway when compared with IMGs ( OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.1 = 0.7). In applicants who changed their training pathway from their initial to revised preference, lower Multiple-Mini-Interview ( OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.43-0.66) and Situational Judgement Test z-scores ( OR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.56-0.83) were associated with a higher probability of changing from a general to rural pathway preference. Conclusion For those eligible for a general or rural pathway, rural background and rural clinical school experience are associated with the decision to elect for rural training. Targeted support for international and foreign graduates of Australia/New Zealand schools may influence them to train rurally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People residing outside the capital cities have poorer oral health than their city counterparts. Health workforce shortages and stability issues can have negative health effects on rural populations. There has been an increasing proportion of women entering the dental practitioner workforce in Australia. This study investigated whether dental practitioners who have a rural background are more likely to work in a rural area than those who do not have a rural background; and whether the gender of dental practitioners plays a role.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of dental practitioners via their professional dental associations. Practice location was assigned as either 'urban' or 'rural' using the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Area categories and measured with demographic characteristics of the respondents. Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using Poisson regression with robust standard errors.Results: Participants with a rural background were more than twice as likely (male PR = 2.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.79-6.26; female PR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.35-5.87) to practise in a rural area than those with an urban background.Conclusions: Dental practitioners with rural backgrounds were more than twice as likely to work in a rural practice as their urban counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an analysis of the spatial distribution and trends of NO, NO and O concentrations in Portugal between 1995 and 2010. Furthermore, an estimation model for daily ozone concentrations was developed for an urban and a rural site. NO concentration showed a significant decreasing trend in most urban stations. A decreasing trend in NO is only observed in the stations with less influence from emissions of primary NO. Several stations showed a significant upward trend in O as a result of the decrease in the NO/NO ratio. In the northern rural region, ozone showed a strong correlation with wind direction, highlighting the importance of long-range transport. In the urban site, most of the variance is explained by the NO/NO ratio. The results obtained by the ozone estimation model in the urban site fit 2013 observed data. In the rural site, the estimated ozone during extreme events agrees with observed concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Access to health care is an ongoing problem for underserved populations in rural and remote regions of Australia and North America. Despite medical schools educating more medical doctors, this maldistribution continues. While students entering medical programs with a rural focus purport to have an interest in rural medicine, their understanding of possible future rural practice is unclear. This study explored the differences in perception of rural practice between beginning medical students from rural and urban backgrounds to gain an indication of the usefulness of our selection process to meet the rural workforce mandate. Methods: Beginning medical students completed a writing exercise about the life and work of a rural medical doctor as a test of their academic writing skills. After completing the task and receiving feedback, students were invited to submit their work for analysis. Template analysis using themes from a study of rural medical registrars was used to analyse 103 scripts. Results: Students demonstrated foundational insight into some of the realities of rural life and practice. However, differences were noted in perspectives between rural background students and urban background students. Rural background students used everyday language to describe the practicalities of rural life, medical practice and the implications for families and communities. Urban background students generally used complex language and more negative descriptors. Conclusions: Beginning medical students from urban and rural backgrounds differ in their perceptions and expression of rural practice. These outcomes are important for medical schools that use interviews in their selection process. Rural background applicants' suitability may be overlooked because of the interviewer's expectations of language, while urban background applicants may score higher related to complex language and use of key phrases. Interviewer training should address this likely bias thereby increasing the potential to recruit rural background students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural medical educators have devised strategies based on research evidence to help shape a medical workforce that will choose to serve in rural and other under-served communities, where the health care needs are often high. Based on evidence that students from rural communities are more likely to work later in rural practice, many medical programmes now have targets for rural background students in addition to rural curriculum and placement initiatives. However, just how strong is the evidence that this is effective? Australian medical schools now have data for up to 20 years since the rural medical education initiatives were first introduced. Rural background still appears to be a strong predictor or rural practice outcomes, although combining multiple strategies appears strongest. There remain some methodological issues, such as defining both 'rural' and 'background', and determining how intention relates to ultimate location of practice. We may yet have to await longer follow-up periods before we can be confident about what works best in rural medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To determine if selecting rural background students into the Monash Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program affects vocational training location and intended practice location after training. Retrospective cohort mail survey. Australia. Rural-background students at Monash 1992-1994 (n = 24/40) and 1995-1999 (n = 59/120) and urban background students (n = 36/93 and 104/300, respectively). Overall study population: 62% female, average age of 28 years; 79% Australian-born; and 60% married/partnered. Rural or urban background, rural undergraduate exposure. Intent towards rural medical practice, vocational training location and subsequent practice location. There was a positive and significant (P ≤ 0.05) association between rural background and rural practice intent when respondents began (10-times higher than urban graduates) and completed (three times higher) their MBBS course. Rural practice intent increased fourfold in urban background graduates. There was a positive and significant association between rural background and preferred place of practice in 5-10 years in a Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Area (RRMA) 3-7 community (three times higher). There was a positive, but non-significant association between rural background and RRMA 3-7 community as their current location and first place of practice once vocationally qualified. Interest in rural practice is not fully reflected in location during or after vocational training. The beneficial effects of rural undergraduate exposure might be lost if internship and vocational training programs provide insufficient rural clinical experiences and curriculum content. Continuation of the rural pathway might be needed to maintain rural practice intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Recruiting and retaining physicians is a challenge in rural areas. Growing up in a rural area and completing medical training in a rural area have been shown to predict decisions to practice in rural areas. Little is known, though, about factors that contribute to physicians’ decisions to locate in very sparsely populated areas. Purpose: In this study, we investigated whether variables associated with rural background and training predicted physicians’ decisions to practice in very rural areas. We also examined reasons given for plans to leave the study state. Methods: Physicians in the State of Wyoming (N = 693) completed a questionnaire assessing their background, current practice, and future practice plans. Findings: Being raised in a rural area and training in nearby states predicted practicing in very rural areas. High malpractice insurance rates predicted planning to move one's practice out of state rather than within state. Conclusions: Rural backgrounds and training independently predict practice location decisions, but high malpractice rates are the most crucial factor in future plans to leave the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare pharmacy students' intention to practise in a rural setting expressed in their first year of university with that expressed during their final year. Design: Longitudinal survey of students in their first and final years. Setting: Tertiary educational institution. Participants: Predominantly metropolitan pharmacy students. Interventions: Students were exposed to a rural curriculum, rural campus and rural placement or rural placement alone during their degree. Main outcome measure: Change in proportion of students expressing an intention to practise in a rural setting following registration. Results: The proportion of respondents who indicated an intention to practise in a rural setting was 21.6% (27/125) in 2006 compared with 11.2% (14/125) in 2003. This was a statistically significant increase of 10.4% (P = 0.001) over the four years. Positive influences on students' intention to practise in a rural setting were: rural background (P = 0.012); rural placement (either two weeks or 12 weeks) (P = 0.002); having been enrolled in the BPharm (Rural) (P = 0.001). Conclusions: This study confirmed the work of others in that the students most likely to express an intention to practise in a rural setting were those from a rural background who elected to undertake and complete a rural degree involving a rural placement. A follow-up survey will be conducted to establish whether their stated intention as students has translated to rural practice in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify factors that influenced medical students at Monash University to undertake their first year of clinical training (third year of the medical course) at a rural clinical school (RCS). Design: Third-year Monash University medical students undertaking clinical placements at a RCS were surveyed in 2005. A semistructured questionnaire was used to ask students to rate the influence of a list of factors on their decision to undertake their year-long placement at a RCS. Results: Under half (48%) of students studying at an RCS reported that they were of rural background. All surveyed items were identified as having had a positive influence. Greater clinical experience, learning opportunities and patient access were identified as having the greatest positive influence followed closely by free accommodation and other financial and supportive incentives. Future rural career intention was eight times more likely to be a positive influence in rural compared with urban background students. Conclusion: The most important positive influence on Monash third-year medical students' decision to study at an RCS is the perception of high-quality clinical experiences and education. This perception arises from rural exposure during pre-clinical years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and to determine whether preparedness for rural practice is predictive of rural practice location.Cross-sectional postal survey mailed in 2001.Communities across Canada where graduates were practising.Graduates (n = 369) of the family medicine residency program at the universities of Alberta (U of A) and Calgary (U of C) between 1996 and 2000, inclusive.Using a 4-point scale, graduates rated the extent to which the residency program prepared them for eight dimensions of rural practice: clinical demands of rural practice, understanding rural culture, small community living, balancing work and personal life, establishing personal/professional boundaries, becoming a community leader, handling a‘fish bowl’ lifestyle, and choosing a suitable community.Identification of non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and whether scores on preparedness scales are predictive of rural practice location.The overall response rate was 76.4%. Factor analysis of the eight preparedness items produced two factors,‘rural culture’ and‘rural community leader’ which explained 72% of the variance. The alpha coefficient for each factor was 0.87. Odds ratios revealed that family medicine graduates prepared for rural community leadership roles were 1.92 (CI = 1.03–3.61) times more likely to be in rural practice. Rural physicians were also 2.14 (CI = 1.13–4.03) times as likely to have a rural background.Preparedness to be a rural community leader and having a rural background were predictive of rural practice. Educators should consider this in both family medicine residency admissions policy and practice and when designing and implementing family medicine residency curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between medical students’ background and their perception of the state of rural health services; willingness to undertake internship training or work as a doctor in a rural hospital; expected benefits and disadvantages of training or working as a doctor in a rural hospital; and factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas. A questionnaire-based survey was distributed to 100 first-year medical students attending the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne at the end of semester 1. The response rate was 97%, including 44 males and 53 females. A strong relationship was found between rural background and an intention to undertake internship training in a rural hospital (86% of students from a rural background expressed this desire vs 30% of students from an urban background). Furthermore, all students from a rural background expressed a desire to work as a doctor in a rural hospital after completing postgraduate training. Compared to urban students, students from a rural background showed a more positive attitude towards health services in rural areas including public hospitals ( P = 0.02), private general practice ( P = 0.004), ambulance service ( P = 0.0002) and baby health centres ( P = 0.005). Citizenship or gender was not significantly related to the perception of any of these services. The ranking of factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas were different for rural and urban students. Students from rural backgrounds reported spouse/partner needs (76% vs 49%, P = 0.038) and school availability for children (59% vs 30%, P = 0.023) as barriers more frequently than urban students, respectively). On the other hand, urban students rated the following factors higher: personal factors (76% vs 53%, respectively), education opportunities (56% vs 24%), social/cultural facilities (50% vs 41%) and the need for frequent travel (29% vs 12%). None of these interfering factors were significantly different. Urban students were more likely than rural students to report that their views were a result of adverse media reports. In conclusion, students from a rural background were more willing to be trained or to work as doctors in rural areas. This was associated with a greater adverse influence by the media upon students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factitious disorder can present with a wide variety of symptomatology. We present a case of a young girl presenting with spontaneous extrusion of wires from her limbs. These metallic wires were present in both her upper and lower limbs in the muscle bulk and were visible on X-ray. She sought repeated surgical removal of these wires, but the wires would invariably reappear. The patient could not be engaged in a therapeutic relationship and the family took premature discharge against medical advice, as they believed in supernatural causation for the phenomenon and were afraid that medical intervention might bring further ill fortune. The case highlights the importance of belief systems of family members as a barrier in managing such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted on the final year students of agriculture in Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The objective of the study was to observe that which of the students (either of rural or urban backgrounds) perform better in agriculture during their degree programme. Both of the programme (6 year and 4 year programme) students were included in the population and their total number was 94. The study reveals that urban students performed academically better than rural students but general thinking is that rural students should perform better in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]