title: Rural maternity care and health policy: parents' experiences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore rural residents' experiences of access to maternity care with consideration of the policy context.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper describes findings from focus groups with parents which formed part of case study data from a larger study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four north Queensland rural towns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three parents living in one of the four rural towns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Identifying prevalent themes in case studies regarding rural parents' expectations and experiences in accessing maternity care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents desired a local, safe and consistent maternity service. Removing or downgrading rural services introduced new barriers to care for rural residents: (i) increased financial costs; (ii) family issues; and (iii) safety concerns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although concerns about rural residents' health status and health care access have received significant policy attention for over a decade, many of the problems which prompted these policy initiatives remain today. Current policy approaches should be re-evaluated in order to improve rural Australians' access to vital health services such as maternity care.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. rebecca.evans@jcu.edu.au
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Veitch
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larkins
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011793:Queensland; D019035:Rural Health Services; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires