- A rural health research conference in Traralgon, Victoria, is being organised and run by medical students and junior doctors
- One-third of Australians live in rural areas but face poorer health outcomes and shorter life expectancy than metropolitan residents
- The conference highlights research on rural paediatric allergies, aged care access and non-surgical abortion availability in remote areas
- Despite $20 billion in federal research funding since 2015, only £300 million was allocated to rural health research
- The DRIVERS conference, initiated in 2021, aims to develop leadership skills among junior doctors and promote peer review research in rural healthcare
Rural health conference in Traralgon – run by and for medical students and junior doctors
One-third of Australians live in rural, regional and remote (RRR) areas. For some of these communities the health outcomes are poor and life expectancy is shorter than those living in metropolitan areas.
This week, Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland will be hosting a rural health research conference designed and run by medical students and junior doctors, to promote their leadership and networking abilities.
The conference is also showcasing some amazing research on paediatric allergy presentations to rural health clinics, as well as the difficulties accessing aged care facilities and non-surgical abortions in remote, regional and rural areas.
Funding for research into rural health remains low in comparison to that done in metro areas. For instance, since its inception in 2015 until 30 April 2023, the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund has allocated $20 billion to research funding but invested just under $300 million on research being conducted in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas and $86.5 million awarded to organisations located in RRR areas.
In 2021 the Doctors for Regional Innovation, Vision, Excellence, Research & Scholarship (DRIVERS) conference was born out of an idea by Monash University’s Associate Professor Janelle Brennan to get junior doctors from Victoria’s Loddon Mallee region to lead an entire scientific conference, from making up the organising and scientific committees, designing the program, suggesting the speakers and hosting sessions, which is an enormous task and a great introduction to leadership and training in the rigors of peer review of research.
Now, for the first time, it is being hosted in Traralgon by the Gippsland Regional Training Hub from 10-11 October 2025.
Associate Professor Rob Dawson, Director of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub, says: "We're not just training future clinicians – we're investing in the future of Gippsland."
While hosted by Monash University’s School of Rural Health, the DRIVERS conference is open to all regional and metropolitan medical students and healthcare workers with research relevant to rural medicine. To learn more, visit monash.edu/drivers
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