Allied health professionals-to-population ratio 15 times higher in urban centres than in remote communities

Abstract

Health workforces around the world are characterized with geographic maldistribution, often leading to inequalities in rural health outcomes. Few rural health workforce studies focus on allied health professionals, include urban comparators, integrate gender considerations, or measure rural diversity. While pharmacists residing in more rural and remote communities earned 9% more than those in core urban centres, relative remoteness contributed little to wage differentials among dentists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, or other AHPs in therapy and assessment. Women earned significantly less than men in dentistry, pharmacy, and physical or occupational therapy, after adjusting for remoteness and other characteristics.