Sharing Rural Health Perspectives: Early Findings From Australia's First Rural Health Consumer Panel

People living in rural Australia experience poorer health outcomes and have reduced access to health services compared with people living in metropolitan areas. Despite guidelines supporting consumer involvement in research, there is low involvement of rural people in health and medical research. Australia's first Rural Health Consumer Panel (RHCP), established in 2022, assists researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of rural and regional Australians' perspectives on health and healthcare. Data are collected from panel members via annual online healthcare surveys and community-based research. This paper presents preliminary findings from two cross-sectional online health surveys (Registration Survey and Health Survey #1) including demographic characteristics and current health status of panel members, interactions with healthcare professionals in the past 12 months and consumers' experience of accessing healthcare. Currently, the RHCP has over 190 members. Panel members are aged between 18 and 84 years and reside in a rural location across Australia. Findings reveal that 90% of panel members reported having a past or current health condition, with 77% of panel members reported having two or more health conditions. Panel members consulted a range of health providers in the past 12 months but often encountered barriers in accessing health services. For those who experienced barriers in accessing a health provider, cost, wait times and distance were most frequently reported. The results of the first two RHCP health surveys have highlighted important issues in rural healthcare, allowing us to identify research priorities and direction for further development of the panel. Findings will be used in collaboration with rural health consumers, rural health services, academic institutions and industry partners to drive improvements in healthcare policy and delivery.