General practice training in regional and rural Australia: A cross-sectional analysis of the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training study

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate registrar, practice and consultation characteristics associated with varying degrees of GP registrars’ practice rurality. Design: A cross-sectional analysis of 12 rounds of data collection (2010-2015) from the longitudinal Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training study, an ongoing, cohort study of Australian GP registrars. The principal analysis used was a generalised ordered logistic regression. Setting/Participants: GP registrars in training practices within five of 17 GP regional training providers in five Australian states. Main outcome measure: Degree of rurality of the practice in which the registrar undertook training terms was calculated from the practice postcode using the Australian Standard Classification-Remoteness Area classification. Results: A total of 1161 registrars contributed data for 166 998 patient consultations (response rate 95.5%). Of these, 56.9% were in major city practices (ASGC-RA1), 25.7% were in inner-regional practices (ASGC-RA2) and 17.4% were in outer-regional/rural practices (ASGC-RA3-5). Several statistically significant associations (P =