Confirmation of Candidature - Recruiting and Retaining Mental Health Nurses in Rural and Remote Parts of Australia Using Attachment to Place as the Theoretical Framework

Australia is a vast country, and it is heavily populated in metropolitan areas. However, the resources upon which Australia needs to drive the economy are in the rural/remote areas. Mining, tourism and farming all need workers to run their businesses and the education, health and service provision for these workers need staff in rural and remote areas. Mental health nurses comprise a vital piece of this workforce. Their numbers are dwindling (Cosgrove & et al., 2018; Clinton & Hazleton, 2000; Harrison et al., 2014; Hungerford et al., 2013; Muyambi et al., 2018), and it is difficult to attract mental health nurses to work in the rural and remote parts of Australia (Crowther & Ragusa, 2011; Nowak, 2005). This proposed research study will use the concept of "place" to determine what keeps mental health nurses working rurally and remotely and provide future employers an appreciation of the difficulties that mental health nurses face. This research is essential in bridging the gap of what is known and unknown when trying to recruit and retain mental health nurses in rural and remote parts of Australia. "holistic solutions founded on rural autonomy, governance and place-based solutions offer the best chance for attracting and retaining people in rural areas" (Jones et., 2021, p. 615).

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