S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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Of the total nurses referred to in Figure 1.4, classified by remoteness, Figure 1.5. displays the subset of mental health nurses within this population. Only 271 mental health nurses work remotely or very remotely.

10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

Number of Mental Health Nurses by Remoteness

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000

Major ciDes Inner Regonial Outer Regonial Remote/Very Remote

Figure 1.5. Number of registered nurses working in mental healthcare by remoteness. Source: AIHW, 2012a. With reference to Table 1.4, there are certain factors that differentiate remote nurses from their counterparts working in regional areas and major cities. There is a significantly higher proportion of males (as a percentage of the total workforce) in very remote locations (15.9%) compared to major cities (10.9%). The researcher was not able to identify any published explanation or commentary on this trend; it is possible that the statistics may be distorted due to the small sample size of very remote nurses (1.88%). What is evident is:

• Very remote nurses are the oldest age cohort, with 47.1% aged older than 50 years.

• Very remote and remote nurses work the longest hours per week among all cohorts.