title: Private practice in rural areas: an untapped opportunity for dietitians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to describe the current demography of rural dietetic private practice and to determine the drivers and barriers for further development.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was used. Document searches and semistructured in-depth individual interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six rural case study sites of dietetic service delivery in rural northern New South Wales.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty key informants including past and present dietitians, dietetic managers and health service managers were recruited, of these a subset of 15 interviews included discussion or comments about private practice in rural areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Themes identified from the interview transcripts, Medicare enhanced primary care consultation data and public/private dietetic staffing levels from document searches.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Private practice staffing ranged between 0% and 26% of the dietetic workforce across the six sites in 2006. Themes relating to the drivers and barriers for private practice were identified: financial factors, job satisfaction, opportunities for private practice and establishing private practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an opportunity for growth of private practice to meet the gap in public dietetic services in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Rural Health and Rural Clinical School Northern NSW, University of Newcastle, Tamworth NEMSC, New South Wales, Australia. leanne.brown@newcastle.edu.au
authors.forename: Leanne J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Lana J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Lauren T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macdonald-Wicks
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capra
mesh_terms: D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004045:Dietary Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D011331:Private Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration