To ensure the opinions of rural Albertans are being heard by key stakeholders, RhPAP has developed the Rural Voice Information Panel, or Rural VIP.
Rural VIP is a platform for rural Albertans to have a voice on health-related matters. Monthly online surveys distributed to Rural VIP members provide evidence-informed data about what people are thinking about health care in rural Alberta. The results are also distributed to relevant stakeholders, partners, and RhPAP’s Board of Directors.
We are now inviting rural Albertans from all backgrounds to provide their opinions on issues related to health care in rural Alberta. Please feel free to participate in any of the surveys below, and have your voice heard!
Click on any of the 
bullets below to open an individual survey. Participate in as few or as many as you would like!
Changes have been announced to three health professions in Alberta: nurse practitioners (NPs), midwives, and licensed practical nurses (LPNs). In the survey, it explains what’s happening and how health-care delivery will be impacted. We would like your thoughts on these health professions.
In this survey, RhPAP is asking about a range of health services and organizations that contribute to Alberta’s health system. We are also interested in unique health-care supports, services, or organizations that are available in your local communities.
Your input will help us determine the awareness and understanding of various health services, and we will share your feedback with interested stakeholders and groups who are included in the following questions.
RhPAP and it’s stakeholders would like to learn more about mental health, and the mental health supports in your rural community. Results of survey will be shared with our partners in health care to inform policies and programming.
Everyone has been impacted by COVID-19. With this survey, we want to get a sense of how Alberta communities are dealing with the pandemic and supporting each other.
While social distancing and social isolation have changed how we physically interact with one another, in times like these, connection is more important than ever.
We know that in spite of fear and uncertainty, community members are showing up for each other. Your answers to the following survey will also help us know how RhPAP could support you better during these stressful times.
RhPAP would like to learn more about mobile health services and accessing health care in your community.
Examples of mobile services that have been available in some communities include breast cancer screening programs, mobile dialysis services, MRI scanning, and a mobile men’s health clinic.
We will share the survey results with our partners in health care.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Alberta, this survey is focused on senior citizens, a group especially affected by the pandemic.
In addition to the risks the coronavirus presents to seniors’ physical health, the protective measures of physical distancing and isolation can take a toll on emotional and mental well-being, with many seniors already at increased risk of loneliness and feelings of depression.
In this survey, we are asking about your connections and experiences with a range of RhPAP initiatives. We are also interested in your community’s ability to reach out to and connect with health-care learners.
A health-care learner is a resident physician, clerk, or medical / health sciences student enrolled in an Alberta-based post-secondary institution.We will share your feedback with RhPAP stakeholders across Alberta who are interested in learning about your experiences. Your input will also help to inform the support and services that we provide to rural communities through our Rural Community Attraction and Retention Program.
RhPAP would like to learn about the aspects that contribute to better health and wellness in your community.
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues and the economy gradually begins to reopen, RhPAP is also interested in your reflections about how the pandemic has impacted your community.
In this survey, RhPAP is asking about the social determinants of health.
What are the social determinants of health?
The social determinants of health (SDH) are the economic, personal, and social conditions that influence and shape people’s health. Our health is determined to a large extent by the conditions of everyday life and the environments in which we live, work, learn, and age.
RhPAP is asking about Rural Health Education and the Pathway to Rural Practice.
Did you know? A survey of nursing practice in rural and remote Canada found that 56 per cent of rural Alberta nurse respondents grew up in a community with a population of less than 5,000.[1]
Research shows that the two biggest predictors of rural practice are:
1. Having a rural background
2. Exposure to rural training and placements during post-secondary education
The pathway to rural practice is a framework of programs and initiatives that exposes rural high school students to health-care careers and provides rural practice and community lifestyle learning opportunities to post-secondary health science students.
Interprofessional collaboration occurs when multiple health professionals of different disciplines work together with patients, families, caregivers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care. Each health professional contributes their unique knowledge and skills into the care of a patient, which is especially beneficial to patients with chronic diseases. Quite often, these providers work in teams (e.g. primary health-care teams) which share the care for a patient.
There are many benefits to interprofessional collaboration, including:
· Improved care coordination and access to health-care services
· Greater patient and provider satisfaction
· Improved patient outcomes
· Decreased health-care costs
RhPAP is asking about your understanding and experience with interprofessional care in your communities. The intent is to understand if and how interprofessional teams are currently being used in Alberta communities.
Allied health-care professionals are health providers with formal education and training who are credentialed through certification, registration, or licensure. They collaborate with physicians, nurses, and other members of the interprofessional team to deliver high quality patient care services for the identification, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disabilities, and disorders.
In this survey, RhPAP is asking about your understanding of allied health-care professionals and how they fit in your community. The intent is to understand how allied health-care professionals are perceived and currently being used throughout Alberta.
We will share the survey results with our partners in health care.
The Canadian Public Health Association defines health literacy as “the ability to access, comprehend, evaluate, and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across the life-course.” Health literacy is important because informed individuals are more likely to take control of their health and confidently make positive health-related decisions.
In a few months, RhPAP will be launching RhPAP U, an interactive online resource that will provide rural Albertans with health information. RhPAP U will explore five broad topics: rural population health; rural health policy; rural health research; rural health service delivery; and rural health workforce. The goal of RhPAP U is to increase health literacy among rural Albertans, and to provide rural Albertans with the confidence and resources to make positive decisions for their health and the health of their communities.
© Rural Health Professions Action Plan