{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]],"date-time":"2025-10-16T10:13:47Z","timestamp":1760609627259,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,20]],"date-time":"2025-01-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1737331200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Rural areas face additional challenges in preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. This study aimed to understand how rural primary healthcare professionals (PHCPs) perceive their roles, involvement, and capacity in disaster health management. Methods: For this qualitative descriptive research, semi-structured interviews were carried out with convenience and purposive samples of rural PHCPs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Open, axial, and selective coding were employed to analyse the data inductively. Results: Five interviews were conducted before the pandemic, and ten interviews were conducted during the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The themes identified were similar between the two periods. Rural PHCPs were underutilised due to a lack of awareness of their capacity and a lack of infrastructure and support for greater involvement. Conclusions: Rural PHCPs can be better integrated and supported in readiness for a whole-system response to future disasters. This study recommends empowering PHCPs in disaster management to promote the health and continuity of care in rural communities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph22010126","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,20]],"date-time":"2025-01-20T04:04:12Z","timestamp":1737345852000},"page":"126","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Rural Primary Healthcare Professionals\u2019 Capacity for Disaster Health Management Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1363-1317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ehmaidy","family":"Al qaf\u2019an","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care Through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9259-3058","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stewart","family":"Alford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kaplan Business School, Kaplan Australia, Brisbane 4000, Australia"},{"name":"School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane 4000, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1115-9995","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Holly A.","family":"Mack","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care Through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ravneet","family":"Sekhon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, Sydney 1460, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6390-9793","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel","family":"Gray","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4420-5193","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kiara","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katie","family":"Willson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Glynn","family":"Kelly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2837-0973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Lim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care Through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1017\/S1049023X21000200","article-title":"Disaster management in rural and remote primary health care: A scoping review","volume":"36","author":"Willson","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prehospital Disaster Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.11124\/JBISRIR-D-19-00029","article-title":"Disaster management in rural and remote primary healthcare settings: A scoping review protocol","volume":"18","author":"Willson","year":"2020","journal-title":"JBI Evid. 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