Matthew McGrail

NHMRC Research Fellow (0.5) – School of Rural Health, based at the Gippsland Medical School, Churchill Campus 

1.   Measurement of health service access and accessibility.  
2.   Rural health policy – indexes of rurality/remoteness.
3.   Rural health workforce recruitment and retention.
4.   Statistical support for rural clinicians

In June 2008, Matthew commenced as a Research Fellow based at the Churchill Campus, 0.5 with each of the Gippsland Medical School and the School of Rural Health.  In his employment with the SRH, Matthew’s focus is the NHMRC-funded MABEL project, under the supervision of Prof John Humphreys.  MABEL (Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life) is a longitudinal survey which aims to improve the understanding of how changes in the working lives of Australian doctors are influencing the provision of healthcare.  Matthew’s particular focus is to explore the influences and decisions which underlie the health workforce distribution in rural and remote areas.

Matthew completed his PhD with the Monash University Department of Rural and Indigenous Health in 2008.  His thesis aimed to develop an index of access to primary care, which improves on existing measures, by using more appropriate methods and taking account of the health needs of rural populations.  Prior to his PhD, Matthew joined the School of Rural Health in 1998, where he applied his strong skills in quantitative research design and analysis to a vast range of rural health projects. He is a first or co-author on over twenty peer-reviewed papers.

McGrail, M. R., & Humphreys, J. S. (2009). 'Measuring spatial accessibility to primary care in rural areas: improving the effectiveness of the two-step floating catchment area method.' Applied Geography, 29:533-541.

Heinemann, M., Sellick, K., Rickard, C., Reynolds, P., & McGrail, M. (2008). 'Automated versus manual blood pressure measurement: a randomised crossover trial.' International Journal of Nursing Practice, 14(4), 296-302

Rickard, C., O'Meara, P., McGrail, M., Garner, D., McLean, A., & Le Lievre, P. (2007). 'A randomized controlled trial of intranasal fentanyl versus intravenous morphine for analgesia in the prehospital setting.' The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 25(8), 911-917

McGrail, M. R., Rickard, C. M., & Jones, R. (2006). 'Publish or perish: a systematic review of interventions to increase academic publication rates.' Higher Education Research and Development, 25(1), 19-35

McGrail, M. R., Jones, R., Robinson, A., Rickard, C. M., Burley, M., & Drysdale, M. (2005). 'The planning of rural health research: rurality and rural population issues.' Rural and Remote Health, 5, 426

'Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL). The Australian Longitudinal Survey of Doctors.' 
A five-year NHMRC-funded longitudinal survey to better understand how the changing balance between work and life for Australia’s doctors is influencing medical workforce shortages. This research will examine the changing patterns of doctors’ work over time to better understand doctor shortages and surpluses, and their pivotal role in the health care system. Changes in family circumstances, job satisfaction, earnings and the nature of work itself, will be examined in order to determine the most effective policy responses to maintaining the size, motivation and productivity of the medical workforce.