Table Of ContentInvestigating the motivation and personal traits of allied health
professionals working in remote and rural Australia:
The Remote and Rural Allied Health Motivation
and Personality (RRAHMP) study
E Narelle Campbell
BAppSc (SpPath), MEd
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at
The University of Queensland in 2015
School of Medicine
Abstract
Background: Allied health (AH) workforce shortages in remote and rural Australia contribute
to poorer health outcomes for residents in those areas. This gap in health workforce has
long been recognised as problematic and persists despite strategies for improving
recruitment and retention of AH professionals. This thesis reports on a new approach to
addressing the recruitment to, and retention in, remote areas of AH professionals by
investigating the personal traits and motivation characteristics of AH professionals with and
without remote area work experience. Recent research has shown that the nursing and
medical professions can be differentiated by personality traits, but little is known about the
personality traits of AH professionals. Therefore, this research aimed to address that
knowledge gap.
The aim of the study was to identify the personality traits and motivation characteristics that
might assist an individual to ‘thrive’ rather than ‘survive’ in the remote work environment. It
did this by asking two research questions. First, what are the personal traits exhibited by
novice and experienced AH professionals? The question sought in particular to identify traits
associated with remote work experience. Second, how is working in remote areas construed,
or perceived, in terms of the personal and motivation characteristics that contribute to
success?
Methods: The convergent parallel mixed methods design comprised two strands of data
collection (QUAN+QUAL/QUAN).
Strand 1 used a biopsychosocial trait model of personality, operationalised through the
Temperament and Character Inventory – Revised 140 (TCI). Data were collected using an
online survey. Snowball sampling through Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied
Health achieved a sample size of 562 AH professionals, with full demographic data and a
completed TCI. Dependent variables were the TCI dimensions, while independent variables
were remote experience, gender, age, profession and grouping of the professions as either
person- or technique-oriented. Analysis was descriptive of the whole sample and
comparative between groups using independent samples t-test, ANOVA and subsequent
two-way ANOVA with 95% confidence level.
Strand 2 used Personal Construct Psychology’s key technique, the repertory grid interview,
to understand how AH professionals construed working in remote areas, in terms of the
personal traits and motivation that contribute to success. Participants (n=34) were a
purposively selected subset of Strand 1. The repertory grid interviews produced both
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qualitative and quantitative data. These were analysed qualitatively to identify the personal
and motivation characteristics, and quantitatively using singular value decomposition and
Euclidean distance to compare differences construed by participants between remote and
other AH work situations.
Results: The following key findings were determined from personality trait results, together
with the repertory grid results:
The AH professionals appear to have mature personality characteristics, i.e. high or
very high levels of Reward Dependence, Persistence, Self-directedness and
Cooperativeness.
The AH professionals with remote experience had higher Novelty Seeking and
average Harm Avoidance levels compared with AH professionals without remote
experience.
Younger AH professionals tended towards higher Harm Avoidance levels.
No single combination of temperament and character traits was prescriptive of
successful recruitment to, and long-term retention in, remote work. While higher
Novelty Seeking and average Harm Avoidance appeared to be a trait combination
suited to working in remote environments, interaction between traits in conjunction
with the context of the individual is paramount. This interaction ultimately determines
behaviour, decisions and fit with the demands of the work environment.
The context of the individual included self-assessed suitability to remote work; life-
stage; personal construing about ideal career and work role; and previous familiarity
with remote work.
The trait levels exhibited by the Strand 1 remote AH professionals were reflected in
the Strand 2 sample’s construing about the personal attributes of a successful
remote AH professional, suggesting congruence between the empirical trait
measurement and the sample’s perceptions about ‘what it takes’ to work in remote
areas.
Discussion: This research created new in-depth knowledge about personal and motivation
characteristics of AH professionals suited to remote work. The thesis has made an important
and novel contribution, including a range of evidence-based policy recommendations
regarding recruitment to, and retention of, AH professionals in remote Australia.
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For recruitment, these recommendations include understanding the insights of individual AH
professionals into their suitability for r emote work and what it means to them to work in
remote areas. This approach facilitates tailoring appropriate supervision and support,
clarifying expectations about the role before employment, and developing career
opportunities. Enhancing retention requir es remote workplaces to develop strategies for
novices that may look different from strategies for experienced AH professionals. In
particular, higher Harm Avoidance in younger professionals requires same -profession
support and supervision, strategies that facilitate personal engagement with the community,
and overt career opportunities. Proper recognition and valuing of the expertise developed by
remote generalist AH professionals via career pathways is important for retention of
experienced AH professionals.
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Declaration by author
This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the
text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have
included in my thesis.
I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical
assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional
editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The
content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my
research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has
been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any
university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any,
have been submitted to qualify for another award.
I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University
Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis
be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless
a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright
holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate, I have obtained copyright permission from the
copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis.
E Narelle Campbell
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Publications during candidature
Peer-reviewed published papers
Campbell, N., McAllister, L., & Eley, D. S. (2012). The influence of motivation in recruitment
and retention of rural an d remote allied health professionals: A literature review. Rural and
Remote Health, 12 (2), 1900. (Online) 2012. Available: http://www.rrh.org.au
Campbell, N., Eley, D. S., & McAllister, L. (2013). What does personality tell us about
working in the bush? Temperament and character traits of Australian remote allied health
professionals. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 21 (5), 240-248. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12047
Campbell, N., Eley, D. S., & McAllister, L. (2014). Investigating personality and
conceptualising allied health as person or technique oriented. Australian Health Review,
38(1), 86-92. doi: 10.1071/AH13109
Conference abstracts
Campbell, N, Eley, D., & McAllister, L. (2010, October). Remote allied health professional
personality and motivation: A new approach to recruitment and retention. Paper presented at
the Services for Australia Rural and Remote Allied Health conference, Broome, WA.
Campbell N, Eley D, & McAllister L. (2012, September). What does personality tell us about
working in the bush: Temperament and character traits of Australian remote allied health
professionals. Paper presented at the Services for Australia Rural and Remote Allied Health
conference, Launceston, TAS.
Campbell N, Eley D, & McAllister L. (2014, September). The construing of allied health
professionals in relation to personality, work location and career success. Paper presented
at the Services for Australia Rural and Remote Allied Health conference, Kingscliff, NSW
Campbell N, Eley D, & McAllister L. (2015, May) Building recruitment and retention
information for the remote allied health workforce. Paper presented at the National Rural
Health Alliance conference, Darwin, NT.
Campbell N, McAllister L, & Eley D. (2013, July). The construing of allied health
professionals in relation to work location and career success. Paper presented at the XXth
International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology, Sydney, NSW.
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Campbell N, McAllister L, & Eley D. (2013, July). Using Repertory Grids in a synchronous
online environment. Paper presented at the XXth International Congress on Personal
Construct Psychology, Sydney, NSW.
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Publications included in this thesis
Campbell, N., McAllister, L., & Eley, D. S. (2012). The influence of motivation in recruitment
and retention of rural and remote allied health professionals: a literature review. Rural and
Remote Health, 12(2), 1900. (Online) 2012. Available: http://www.rrh.org.au
- incorporated into the thesis as Chapter 2, Section 2.1.
Contributor Statement of contribution
Author Narelle Campbell (Candidate) Conception and design of study (100%)
Review of literature (90%)
Analysis and interpretation (80%)
Wrote first draft (100%)
Amended and submitted paper (100%)
Author Lindy McAllister Review of literature (10%)
Analysis and interpretation (10%)
Critical review of draft (50%)
Author Diann Eley Analysed data (10%)
Critical review of draft (50%)
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Campbell, N., Eley, D. S., & McAllister, L. (2013). What does personality tell us about
working in the bush? Temperament and character traits of Australian remote allied health
professionals. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 21 (5), 240-248. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12047
- incorporated into the thesis as Chapter 4, Section 4.2.
Contributor Statement of contribution
Author Narelle Campbell (Candidate) Conception and design of study (40%)
Data collection (80%)
Analysis and interpretation of data (70%)
Wrote first draft of paper (100%)
Amended and submitted paper (100%)
Author Diann Eley Conception and design of study (40%)
Data collection (20%)
Analysis and interpretation of data (30%)
Critical review of draft (70%)
Author Lindy McAllister Designed study (20%)
Critical review of draft (30%)
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Campbell, N., Eley, D. S., & McAllister, L. (2014). Investigating personality and
conceptualising allied health as person or technique oriented. Australian Health Review,
38(1), 86-92. doi: 10.1071/AH13109
- incorporated into the thesis as Chapter 4, Section 4.3.
Contributor Statement of contribution
Author Narelle Campbell (Candidate) Conception and design of study (80%)
Analysis and interpretation of data (80%)
Wrote first draft of paper (100%)
Amended and submitted paper (100%)
Author Diann Eley Conception and design of study (10%)
Analysis and interpretation of data (20%)
Critical review of draft (70%)
Author Lindy McAllister Designed study (10%)
Critical review of draft (30%)
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