Supporting the needs of pre- and primary school children in rural Victoria: Multidisciplinary views and experiences

Problem: Predicted effects on children from the COVID-19 pandemic include poorer mental health and increased behavioural and developmental concerns. Rural children are at higher risk due to socio-economic factors, isolation and reduced access to services. Investigation by health services into the physical, social and emotional needs of children in rural areas is critical to inform local health promotion planning, service delivery priorities and workforce capacity building. Setting: Located in a Modified Monash Model category 5, our northern Victorian health service undertook a child-focused needs assessment in order to be strategically responsive to community issues. Key measures: The project utilised a quantitative community profiling approach and qualitative interviews with a purposive sample (n = 17) of multidisciplinary professionals. Strategies for change: Three main themes emerged: (1) Perpetual navigation of rural access limitations highlighted professionals' exhaustion in working in environments with ongoing unmet needs. (2) Cycles of disadvantage and early intervention gaps identified flow-on negative effects, with concerning trends in poorer child outcomes. (3) Solutions through collaboration grouped ideas to improve support for children. Effects of change: Community-level enablement strategies could increase contact with allied health professionals for rural children and reduce reliance on individualised treatment approaches. Lessons learnt: One collaborative action is to pilot and evaluate allied health student placement models to deliver group programs for rural children.