Why is this useful for rural and remote people?

There is a substantial body of research that demonstrates the flow-on economic impact of the closure of rural health and hospital services in Australia and other developed countries. This study looks at the positive economic and employment effects of investing in rural and remote hospitals. While the study is primarily about new hospital investments in larger regional centres, the finding that investing in health leads to more jobs, stronger population growth and greater economic activity is equally applicable to small rural and remote towns. Rural and remote people can use this research to advocate for investment in strengthening local rural and remote health and hospital services. Governments have evidence that investing in rural and remote health and social services contributes to local employment, economic activity, and population retention and growth in these towns, as well as better health outcomes for local people. Rural and remote people might consider raising questions with their local member, or health services, about whether they are taking into account the flow-on and induced benefits of health care investment in rural and remote communities when making decisions to allocate resources to local health care.