title: Retention challenge facing Australia's rural community mental health services: Service managers' perspectives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper aims to contribute to the development of a more sustainable Australian rural community mental health workforce by comparing the findings from a literature search investigating impacting factors on retention with the experiences of community mental health service managers running services in rural Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public health sector, rural New South Wales.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five community mental health managers, running services in rural Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were undertaken as a pilot for a broader qualitative study investigating factors influencing the decision to stay or leave among community mental health professionals working in rural positions. The purpose of undertaking this pilot study was to test for validity and relevance of the retention phenomena and help inform the research design for the main study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three key retention focussed themes were identified: (i) Staffing is a persistent challenge; (ii) Small remote towns pose the biggest challenge; and (iii) The decision to stay or leave is complex and multifactorial.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this pilot study support previous research and contribute to the understanding of influences on retention among health professionals working in rural community mental health services. Importantly, those who have worked for several years in rural positions hold important information through which to explore factors that impact retention in rural and remote regions.
authors.affiliation: School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cosgrave
authors.affiliation: Australian National University Medical School and Centre for Research on Ageing, Health & Well-Being, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University Acton, Australia.
authors.forename: Rafat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Myfanwy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maple
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D009517:New South Wales; D010563:Personnel Turnover / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: community-based service delivery; public health; recruitment; remote health delivery; workforce