2006 SARRAH Conference

About the 2006 SARRAH National Conference

The 2006 SARRAH National Conference was hosted by the Albury Convention Centre in Albury NSW from 13-16 September 2006.

It was trhe 7th national conference for rural and remote allied health professionals (AHPs) and represented the ideal vanue for those with an interest in and concern about the delivery of allied health services in rural and remote communities to come together. AHPs interested or concerned with the physical, mental or social health of rural and remote people participated in this vital rural and remote event and shared their ideas, concerns and solutions in order to advance allied health concepts for improving the quality of life of communities living in isolated regions of Australia.

The mission of the 2006 conference was to:

• provide allied health leadership for the future delivery of health services to meet the needs of an ageing population
• drive the development and look of the future health professional workforce
• enable input and influence by rural and remote allied health professionals (the ‘grass roots’) into national and state health policy and service delivery
• promote continuing education and professional development activities deemed essential to support allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia
• promote good health and wellbeing through the delivery of allied health services to and by Indigenous people in rural communities

Delegates attending the 2006 SARRAH National Conference embraced the overarching theme:

“Building Bridges... Crossing Borders”

Concepts that were explored within the idea of Building Bridges... Crossing Borders included:

• Building bridges to better health - the crux of the matter
• Bridging rural and remote service / workforce gaps from today into the future
• Crossing borders between fuding sources / public and private / professions / Commonwealth and States / community needs
• Building bridges from undergraduate to a supported and valued rural and remote workforce

The conference attracted AHPs working in rural and remote areas and managers of these services; workforce planners, developers and funders of health policy and programs relating to rural and remote allied health services, educators of allied health professionals and consumers of these services who are interested in the dynamic developments in allied health services.

Allied health professions were considered to be those providing a clinical service with direct client contact involved in assessment, diagnosis, treatment, management, clinical intervention, rehabilitation, patient education and health promotion; with a recognised university degree or equivalent tertiary qualification. For example: audiologists, dietetics, medical radiation science, occupational therapy, optometry, orthoptics, orthotics and prosthetics, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, social work and speech pathology.

Conference Sponsors

SARRAH would like to thank the financial sponsors of the 2006 SARRAH National Conference for their support of this event

Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

NSW Health

Charles Sturt University