In research, participatory approaches involve engaging in the research with people and empower co-researchers to have a voice. The aim of this review was to synthesize the methods and approaches used to enable children, adolescents, and families to be involved in a participatory approach in research conducted to inform development of health resources and interventions aimed at children and adolescents. Key databases were searched systematically using key word and subject heading searches and included studies were appraised for both methodological quality and sufficiency of reporting of their participatory approach. Findings were synthesized using a critical narrative approach. Among 26 eligible studies, commonly reported participatory approaches involved community-based participatory research, codesign, participatory design, coproduction, and user-centred design. A need was identified to involve co-researchers more in the later stages of participatory approaches. Most studies were of low to moderate methodological quality. A wide variety of methods and activities were used in the studies to enable children to participate in the research, but few studies provided sufficient evidence of their participatory approach. This review concludes that reporting of participatory approaches might benefit from the guidelines that acknowledge the dual nature of participatory approaches as both a research method and an approach that enables action and change.

Background: Supporting the provision of clinical placement (CP) experiences in rural areas is a strategy used worldwide to promote the rural health workforce. While there is international evidence for this intervention in medicine, there is limited understanding of the influence of rural CP for nursing, midwifery, allied health, and dentistry health professions in Australia, which have received substantial federal investment. This review examined the relationship between rural CP and non-medicine health students’ future rural practice intentions and workforce outcomes. Methods: Four databases were systematically searched; papers were screened using defined criteria and appraised using the mixed-methods appraisal tool (MMAT). Findings were synthesized using a critical narrative approach. Results: The methodological quality of the 29 eligible studies (13 quantitative non-randomized, 10 mixed method, 4 qualitative, 2 quantitative description) was appraised. Ten high-quality studies were identified. The review found that positive CP experiences may influence intention to practice rurally amongst undecided students and serve as a reinforcing experience for those students already interested in rural practice. There were mixed findings regarding the influence of CP length. The review also found that there is currently only evidence for the short-term effects of CP on students’ future practice outcomes in rural areas with focus thus far on early practice outcomes. Conclusions: Those looking to use rural CP to promote the rural health workforce should focus on supporting the quality of a large number of CP experiences that are undertaken in rural areas, as there are currently differing findings on the role of rural CP length. Future studies of rural CP should consider greater use of social and educational theories to guide them.

Background: Rising global temperatures and increased use of personal protective equipment has led to increased risk of heat stress amongst healthcare professionals. This review synthesizes recent research on the impact of heat and heat mitigation strategies on healthcare professionals across disciplines and settings.Method: Databases were systematically searched using keywords and data from included studies were extracted for content analysis.Results: Among 15 eligible studies, 13 investigated the impact of heat stress on healthcare professionals. Six investigated mitigation strategies. Most studies utilized survey methodology and were related to the use of personal protective equipment during the recent pandemic. Large proportions of healthcare professionals reported high levels of thermal discomfort and preferred a cooler temperature in the workplace. The most commonly reported heat strain symptoms included sweating, fatigue, thirst, and poor or reduced concentration. Investigation of mitigation strategies has thus far focused on individual strategies with little insights gained into organizational support or heat policy.Conclusions: Supporting healthcare professionals to manage the impact of heat stress has received little attention in the literature. Mitigation strategies have thus far focused predominantly upon individual strategies. Future studies should adopt a more comprehensive approach to investigating healthcare professional's experiences, investigating all levels of controls.

Introduction and hypothesis: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in the general female population. It was hypothesised that Australian female military personnel and veterans would experience similar types and prevalence of LUTS as the broader Australian female population. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was utilised to explore the pelvic health of active servicewomen and veterans in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). For the purposes of this report, only the demographic and LUTS data (excluding urinary tract infections) were extracted and descriptively analysed. Results: A total of 491 complete survey responses were received and analysed. Respondent characteristics were comparable to those documented in a departmental report regarding ADF servicewomen. No LUTS were reported by 38% of respondents. Regular symptoms of urinary incontinence were experienced by 27% of respondents (stress urinary incontinence = 23%, urge urinary incontinence = 16%, mixed urinary incontinence = 13%), bladder storage issues by 20–27%, and various voiding impairments by 9–27%. In addition, 41% reported regularly experiencing two or more LUTS, and for over two thirds of respondents, LUTS were an ongoing issue. Relationships between age, parity, and symptoms of urinary incontinence were also seen. Conclusions: Consistent with wider research in Australian female populations, LUTS were commonly experienced during service by ADF female military personnel and veterans. Given the high likelihood of female military personnel experiencing LUTS during their service, and a proportion experiencing ongoing symptoms, tailored monitoring and support for urinary health should be available to enhance occupational health, safety, and performance.