Deborah Russell

Dr Deborah Russell

Senior Research Fellow

Qualifications:

PhD, Monash University, 2014
MClinEpid (Master Clinical Epidemiology), University of Newcastle, 2011
FRACGP, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 1996
MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), University of Melbourne, 1989

Location:

Bendigo, Central Victoria

Biography:

Deb is a medical epidemiologist whose specific academic interests include rural and remote health services research (models of care, understanding and measuring access to health care) and health workforce supply, distribution, recruitment and retention.

Her PhD (2014) investigated the patterns, determinants and measurement of rural and remote primary health care workforce turnover and retention.

A Senior Research Fellow at Menzies since October 2019, Deb is mainly working across two projects: the evaluation of the Central Australian Medical Retrieval and Consultation Centre; and Understanding and responding to the cost and health impact of short-term health staffing in remote and rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health services

Email

Research Themes

Understanding and responding to the cost and health impact of short-term health staffing in remote and rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health services
Evaluation of the Central Australian Medical Retrieval and Consultation Centre
Integrated Team Care (ITC) Care Coordination Evaluation
Streamlined: Optimising aeromedical retrievals in remote Northern Territory
The Right Workforce at the Right Time: Improving the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Aeromedical Retrieval Systems in Remote Australia
Co-design and Implementation of Workforce Retention Strategies in Remote Aboriginal Health Services
CRE for Strengthening Health Systems in Remote Australia (CRESTRA)
Evaluation of the Continuity of Care Model in Congress Town-based Clinics
Examining the impact of extreme temperature on primary healthcare services utilisation in remote Central Australia to inform adaptation strategies

MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies’ CRESTRA part of newly funded national consortium to improve primary healthcare

Date

March 13, 2025 - 13:15pm

CRESTRA has been nationally recognised for its leadership in remote multidisciplinary primary healthcare.
Training for NT General Practitioners facing a grim future

Date

July 12, 2021 - 06:00am

Led by Menzies Professor of Remote and Rural Health Services Research John Wakerman, the study looked to determine the factors underpinning the decline in GP enrolments in the NT and how to overcome these issues.

Russell, D., Humphreys, J. S., McGrail, M. R., Cameron, W. I., & Williams, P. (2013). The value of survival analyses for evidence-based rural medical workforce planning. Human Resources for Health, 11(1 (Art. No.:65)), 1 - 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-11-65.
Russell, D. J., Humphreys, J. S., & Wakerman, J. (2012). How best to measure health workforce turnover and retention: five key metrics. Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association, 36(3), 290–295. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH11085.
Russell, D. J., McGrail, M. R., & Humphreys, J. S. (2017). Determinants of rural Australian primary health care worker retention: A synthesis of key evidence and implications for policymaking. The Australian journal of rural health, 25(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12294.
Russell, D. J., McGrail, M. R., Humphreys, J. S., & Wakerman, J. (2012). What factors contribute most to the retention of general practitioners in rural and remote areas?. Australian journal of primary health, 18(4), 289–294. https://doi.org/10.1071/PY11049.
Russell, D. J., Wakerman, J., & Humphreys, J. S. (2013). What is a reasonable length of employment for health workers in Australian rural and remote primary healthcare services?. Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association, 37(2), 256–261. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH12184.
Russell, D. J., Zhao, Y., Guthridge, S., Ramjan, M., Wakerman, J., Jones, M. P., & Humphreys, J. S. (2017). Patterns of Remote Area Nurse and Aboriginal Health Practitioner turnover and retention in remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia, 2013-2015. Hum Resour Health, 15, 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0229-9.
Wakerman, J., Humphreys, J., Russell, D., Guthridge, S., Bourke, L., Dunbar, T., Zhao, Y., Ramjan, M., Murakami-Gold, L., & Jones, M. P. (2019). Remote health workforce turnover and retention: what are the policy and practice priorities? Human Resources for Health, 17(1), 1-8. [99]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0432-y.
Zhao, Y., Russell, D. J., Guthridge, S., Ramjan, M., Jones, M. P., Humphreys, J. S., & Wakerman, J. (2019). Cost impact of high staff turnover on primary care in remote Australia. Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association, 43(6), 689–695. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH17262.
Zhao, Y., Russell, D. J., Guthridge, S., Ramjan, M., Jones, M. P., Humphreys, J. S., & Wakerman, J. (2019). Costs and effects of higher turnover of nurses and Aboriginal health practitioners and higher use of short-term nurses in remote Australian primary care services: an observational cohort study. BMJ open, 9(2), e023906. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023906.
Zhao, Y., Russell, D. J., Guthridge, S., Ramjan, M., Jones, M. P., Humphreys, J. S., Carey, T. A., & Wakerman, J. (2017). Long-term trends in supply and sustainability of the health workforce in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. BMC health services research, 17(1), 836. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2803-1.

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