Table 4.

Review findings presented by outcome (intention and/or employment) studied.

Studies	Theory or Conceptual Framework	Rural Background/Interest Incl. in Analysis	Intention and/or Employment Examined	Outcome Indicator	Results
A mixed-method study of chiropractic student clinical immersion placements in nonmetropolitan Western Australia: Influence on student experience, professional attributes, and practice destination [19]	NR	No	Intention and employment	More likely to consider practicing in a rural or remote setting as a result of CP and rurality of employment locations	Graduates who were working in a rural location were more likely to have voluntarily undertaken a rural CP during their degree.
An innovation in Australian dental education: rural, remote, and Indigenous pre-graduation placements [20]	NR	No	Intention	Consideration of rural practice	Most students reported considering rural practice prior to the CP at similar levels to post-CP, despite most not having experienced rural living before placement.
Four years after graduation: occupational therapists’ work destinations and perceptions of preparedness for practice [21]	NR	No	Employment	Described influence of rural CP experiences on rural or metro employment location	Rural CP enticed some of the rural-practicing graduates towards rural practice, while all seven of the non-rural-practicing graduates reported their rural CP had a dissuading effect.
Longitudinal tracking of workplace outcomes for undergraduate allied health students undertaking placements in Rural Australia [22]	NR	Yes	Intention	Pre- and post-CP rural work intentions	“38.3% positive change” between allied health students’ retrospective self-assessment of rural practice intention pre-CP to their post-CP rating, with 55% of students with no rural background having a higher rating.
Preparing graduates to meet the allied health workforce needs in rural Australia: short-term outcomes from a longitudinal study [23]	NR	Yes	Employment	Influence of CP on current rural or metro employment, employment location one year after graduation	Students from a non-rural background were significantly more likely to have indicated that their CP influenced their decision and be practicing rurally. No significant difference was found among rural students. One-third of allied health students who indicated that their CP experience influenced them to take up their graduate position were employed in a city location.
Workplace locations of allied health and nursing graduates who undertook a placement in the Northern Territory of Australia from 2016 to 2019: an observational cohort study [24]	NR	Yes	Employment	Whether employed in a rural area ^, whether rural placement influenced consideration of rural practice, intention to work as a rural or remote health professional within the first 5 years following graduation (0 = no intention; 50 = 50/50 probability; 100 = absolute certainty)	Graduates who spent more than 10 weeks on CP were more likely to be working rurally. Three-quarters of respondents reported that placement influenced their consideration of rural practice and were more likely to be practicing rurally. Those who indicated they were ‘already committed’ to rural practice had highest rates of rural practice and highest mean intention of being in rural work in five years’ time.
Characteristics of nursing and allied health student placements in the Northern Territory over time (2017–2019) and placement satisfaction [25]	NR	Partially. Prior consideration of rural work examined	Intention	Placement has encouraged consideration of living and working in a rural or remote location	Those who reported prior consideration of rural living and working were more likely to be encouraged by CP, as were those who reported satisfaction with educational resources and overall. Rural background and placement length not significant in univariate tests.
The impact of rural clinical placement on student nurses’ employment intentions [26]	NR	Partially	Intention	Intention to seek work in a rural area	Proportion of students intending to practice rurally was significantly higher among those who chose a rural CP than among those who chose a metro CP. This difference in intention between groups was significantly higher both pre- and post-CP. No significant change in the proportion of students intending to practice rurally post-CP.
Rural placements in Tasmania: do experiential placements and background influence undergraduate health science student’s attitudes toward rural practice? [27]	Situated learning	Yes (but not separated by discipline)	Intention	Pre- and post-CP rural work intention ratings	Participants of all disciplines areas and geographical backgrounds increased their mean rural work intention ratings. This was significant in all groups except pharmacy and rural classification areas, which had sample sizes of seven or less
Factors influencing medical radiation science graduates’ early-career principal place of practice: a retrospective cohort study [28]	NR	Yes	Employment	Rural employment 2 years after graduation	Multivariate analysis found rural background the sole predictor of rural practice; neither number of CP nor cumulative CP days were significant beyond univariate models.
Student opinions on a rural placement program in New South Wales, Australia [29]	NR	Partially	Intention	Intention to work rurally, pre- and post-CP, description of how CP raised interest	Factors of the rural CP experience reported to raise interest in rural practice, including positive experiences with the rural community and patients, a broader range of clinical procedures, a shorter commute to work, quality supervision, and clinical mentors.
Assessment of a dental rural teaching program [30]	NR	Yes	Intention	Intention to work rurally, pre- and post-CP	55% of pre-CP participants were interested in working rurally after they graduate with the rest undecided. All post-CP participants, apart from one, were interested (97%).
The influence of a clinical rural placement programme on the work location of new dental graduates from the University of Sydney, NSW, Australia [31]	NR	No	Employment	Rural employment location two and three years after graduation	Participants in the voluntary rural CP were significantly more likely to be practicing rurally.
A longitudinal evaluation of the Rural Clinical Placement Program at the University of Sydney Dental School [32]	NR	Partially	Employment	Rural employment location, whether rural CP had a positive influence on employment location	Participants in the voluntary rural CP had higher likelihood of being employed rurally at follow-up, approaching significance at the 5% alpha level. Respondents who agreed their rural CP experience influenced their working location were more likely to be working rurally.
A longitudinal workforce analysis of a Rural Clinical Placement Program for final year dental students [33]	NR	Yes	Employment	Rural employment location at two time points	Participants in the voluntary rural CP were significantly more likely to be working rurally than non-participants at initial follow-up but not at the second follow-up two years later, although these graduates were significantly more likely to be retained rurally between years.
The workforce outcomes of dental graduates from a metropolitan school ‘Rural Clinical Placement Program’ versus a ‘Rural Clinical School’ [34]	NR	Yes (for quantitative component only)	Employment	Rural employment location, positive influence of rural CP on employment location	Participants in the voluntary rural CP had higher likelihood of being employed in rural practice, approaching significance at the 5% alpha level. Graduates who indicated that the rural CP influenced their work location were significantly more likely to be working rurally; 50% of those who responded that it did impact their work location were working in a metropolitan area.
Pharmacy students’ rural career intentions: perspectives on rural background and placements [35]	NR	Yes	Intention	Rating whether rural CP increased likelihood of working in a rural area	High agreeance from students who have undertaken at least one rural CP reporting it as a valuable learning experience and made them more likely to work in a rural area. No difference by whether they had a rural background or not.
What do dental students value about their rural placements—is clinical experience enough? [36]	NR	Partially (predominately metro sample)	Intention	Interest in rural practice post-placement	Most would consider rural living and working after CP predominately because of the practice opportunities, with responses focused on their positive CP experience. Those who did not described social connections to city and city lifestyle as reasons.
The lure of the bush: do rural placements influence student nurses to seek employment in rural settings? [37]	NR	Partially	Intention	Whether would consider working rurally, whether would consider working rurally on graduation	Rural CP gave students “good insight” on what a graduate year might look like in a rural hospital, although this could have both negative and positive impacts on practice considerations. No clear numbers reported.
Going country: rural student placement factors associated with future rural employment in nursing and allied health [38]	NR	Yes	Employment	Rural employment one year after graduation	The two CP factors that were significantly, positively associated with future rural practice when controlling for rural background were where the CP was rated by students as ‘excellent’ for their professional development as well as those whose rural CP was for four weeks or less.
Factors associated with rural work for nursing and allied health graduates 15-17 years after an undergraduate rural placement through the University Department of Rural Health program [39]	NR	Yes	Employment	Rural employment at one and 15–17 years after graduation	No rural CP characteristics significantly associated with long-term rural practice, only whether the first job after graduation was in a rural location. Rural background also non-significant.
Does undertaking rural placements add to place of origin as a predictor of where health graduates work? [40]	NR	Yes	Employment	Employment in metropolitan, regional, rural, or remote areas in early years of practice	Higher ratio of metro to rural CP significantly, negatively associated with rurality of practice. Rural background was significant and positive, accounting for the greatest amount of variance in rural practice.
Destinations of nursing and allied health graduates from two Australian universities: a data linkage study to inform rural placement models [41]	NR	Yes	Employment	Rural practice in second year post-graduation	0–20 cumulative days of placement—not significantly different from zero rural CP, 21–40 days—double likelihood of rural practice than zero CP, more than 40 days—associated with 4.5 times the likelihood of rural CP with the rural background indicator returning similarly high odds.
Pharmacy students’ intention to practise in a rural setting: measuring the impact of a rural curriculum, rural campus and rural placement on a predominantly metropolitan student cohort [42]	NR	Yes	Intention	Intention to practice rurally	Rural CP is positively associated with rural practice intention but is only approaching significance. Rural background is the only significant factor found.
Rural pharmacy workforce: influence of curriculum and clinical placement on pharmacists’ choice of rural practice [43]	NR	Yes	Employment	Choice to practice rurally, how placement influenced this choice	Pharmacists reported their rural CP experiences as “predominately positively influencing their choice of rural career” (p. 134), with the opportunity to experience a rural lifestyle indicated as a significant influence by most.
Up close and real: living and learning in a remote community builds students’ cultural capabilities and understanding of health disparities [44]	Interprofessional learning, experiential and situated learning	Partially	Intention and employment	Graduate feedback on CP impact, rural employment proportion	Placement ‘reaffirmed’ students’ existing interest in practicing rurally. Six of eight employed recent graduates were working rurally. One student interested in working remotely in the long-term.
Learning from follow-up of student placements in a remote community: a small qualitative study highlights personal and workforce benefits and opportunities [45]	Experiential and situated learning frameworks, place-based social processes	Yes	Intention	Graduates’ retrospective assessment of CP influence on their rural practice intentions	Rural CP experience was perceived to provide substantial professional development for students which positively influenced or reinforced existing positive attitudes.
Rural placements during undergraduate training promote future rural work by nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals [46]	NR	Yes	Employment	Hours worked in rural practice within the last week (1–14 years after graduation)	Health professionals who reported the highest quintile of rural CP weeks during their studies reported working significantly longer hours in rural practice than those who undertook no placement.
Immersive placement experiences promote rural intent in allied health students of urban and rural origin [47]	NR	Yes	Intention	Cross-sectional before and after CP rural work intention ratings	Intention rated higher for both rural background and non-rural background students, but only significantly higher among non-rural students. Significantly higher ratings were found for all CP lengths and disciplines, except for medical radiation which had existing high ratings.

NR: not reported. ^ classified as medium rural town to very remote; excludes larger rural towns and regional centers.