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Abstract: Objective: To describe hip dysplasia screening practices in a local rural health district. Design: Cross‐sectional study of hospital birth records, local physiotherapy records, public community health electronic medical record (Community Health Information Management Enterprise database) and a survey of local clinicians who work with infants and children. Setting: Three rural public hospitals and community health centres in a New South Wales health district. Participants: Birth records (n = 196) from March 2012 to May 2012; attendance at child and family nurse checks (n = 788) May 2013–April 2014; 13 cases of managed developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) 2012 and local clinicians (n = 49). Results: At birth, the majority of infants (91%, 179/196) had documented hip screening. Community health records show this dropped to 75% (587/788) at 1–4 weeks and 29% (227/788) at 6–8 weeks. A survey of local clinicians (54% response rate; 49/91) revealed most (78%) screen for DDH and less than half (43%) use guidelines. Almost all (97%) clinicians reported screening for DDH at 6–8 weeks of age. Only 51% of clinicians reported having specific training for DDH screening and 76% would like further training. The rate of late DDH requiring management in 2012 was 0.87% (7/806) and the rate of late DDH requiring surgery was 0.25% (2/806). Conclusion: DDH screening practices are well established at birth in the rural health district. There is variability in DDH screening practices beyond 8 weeks of age. Clinicians report variations in their knowledge and training. Training in DDH screening and hip screening prompts added to the personal health record might improve rates of DDH screening beyond 8 weeks of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the factors that influence rural nurses engagement with online learning within a rural health district in New Sound Wales ( NSW), Australia. Design This qualitative study based on appreciative inquiry methodology used semi-structured interviews with managers and nurses. Purposive sampling methods were used to recruit facility managers, whereas convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses in 2012-2013. Setting Three public health facilities in rural NSW. Participants Fourteen nurses were involved in the study, including Health Service Managers ( n = 3), Nurse Unit Manager ( n = 1), Clinical Nurse Specialists ( n = 3), Registered Nurses ( n = 2), Enrolled Nurses ( n = 2) and Assistant in Nursing ( n = 3). Main outcome measure The research found that online learning works well when there is accountability for education being undertaken by linking to organisational goals and protected time. Nurses in this study valued the ability to access and revisit online learning at any time. However, systems that are hard to access or navigate and module design that did not provide a mechanism for users to seek feedback negatively affected their use and engagement. Conclusion This study demonstrates that rural nurses' engagement with online learning would be enhanced by a whole of system redesign in order to deliver a learning environment that will increase satisfaction, engagement and learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research on a public-private partnership created by a local public hospital and local private physiotherapy practice in News South Wales, Australia to attract and educate new graduate physiotherapists. Topics tackled are shared education process and value of learning experiences for each sector, significance of cross-sector education in preparing graduates for clinical situations, and importance of investing in education provision for the private sector.