Rural nursing and allied health placements during the latter stage of the COVID-19 public health emergency: A national study.

Objective: To explore changes to rural nursing and allied health placements during the latter stage of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Setting: Regional, rural and remote Australia.

Participants: Nursing and allied health students with a scheduled University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) facilitated rural placement between 1 January 2022 and 31 October 2022.

MAFLD but not MASLD increases risk of all-cause mortality in regional Australia, with components of metabolic syndrome exacerbating factors: 20 year longitudinal, cohort study.

Background And Aims: Controversy remains whether the mortality risk in people with fatty liver disease (FLD) including metabolic-(dysfunction) associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic-(dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is higher than observed in those without FLD. We aimed to determine the mortality rate and mortality rate ratio (MRR) for these FLDs.

Methods: The study population was a randomly selected cohort of community-dwelling adults in regional Victoria, Australia between 2001 and 2003 with sufficient data evaluable for Fatty Liver Index and determination on alcohol consumption.

Validation of serum non-invasive tests of liver fibrosis as prognostic markers of clinical outcomes in people with fatty liver disease in Australia.

Background And Aim: The validity of non-invasive tests (NITs) of liver fibrosis for the prediction of liver and mortality outcomes in an Australian cohort is unknown. We aimed to verify the utility of available NITs to predict overall and cause-specific mortality and major adverse liver outcome (MALO).

Methods: This was an analysis from the Crossroads 1 clinic sub-study of a randomly sampled adult cohort from regional Australia between 2001 and 2003.

Perspectives of work readiness among Australian health students trained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: To explore perspectives of work readiness, including readiness to work rurally, among health students trained in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Participants were allied health, medicine, and nursing students in the later years of their degree (third, fourth or final year of an undergraduate entry to practice degree, or second year of postgraduate entry to practice degree), where training is clinically immersive. These students had completed a University Department of Rural Health facilitated rural and remote placement between January 2021 and October 2022.