• Charles Sturt University researchers are surveying how women and non-binary individuals perceive and experience their health and wellbeing

A team of Charles Sturt University researchers are working to uncover how women and non-binary individuals perceive their own health and wellbeing in regional and remote Australia.

The all-female research team in the Charles Sturt School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences are investigating the different perspectives and experiences of subjects in terms of their health, access to healthcare and support for their physical and mental wellbeing.

Women and non-binary individuals living in regional or remote Australia are invited to participate in a  survey online and may choose to participate in a subsequent interview.

Chief investigator and Associate Head of the Charles Sturt School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences Associate Professor Chelsea Litchfield said the combination of gender-related and regional healthcare access presented unique challenges.

“Rural and remote Australians often have poorer health outcomes compared with people living in metropolitan areas,” she said.

“It is also known that gender can be a significant determinant of health experiences and outcomes, so the intersection of being female or identifying as a non-binary individual and living in rural or remote Australia presents unique healthcare challenges.”

This motivated the research, with the team conducting online surveys of this section of the community.

Professor Litchfield said in doing so, they hoped to be able to help inform more positive healthcare and wellbeing pathways in the future.

“Exploring the experiences of female and non-binary identified individuals in rural and remote areas will provide insights into their experiences and information to assist with addressing some of the systemic issues and identification of priorities from the perspectives of the participants,” she said.

“In order to make improvements, we need to hear what is needed and wanted from those who are directly impacted.”

This project has ethics approval from the Charles Sturt University Human Research and Ethics Committee (Approval Number: H24045).

The online survey is open now and closes at the end of August.

ENDS