Rural proofing
Rural Proofing for Health
"Rural Proofing for Health: A Toolkit for Primary Care Organisations" was published in July 2005 and was the culmination of two years of work by the Institute of Rural Health. The aim of this work had been to identify the issues of concern for the providers and users of health services in rural areas, to produce a resource for Primary Care Organisations to help them to consider the needs of people living in rural communities, and to ensure that the health services they provide are rurally sensitive. The Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit is a guide to help identify the health needs of residents living in rural areas so that those needs can be incorporated both into policy making at a strategic level, and into the design and delivery of services by health service providers on the frontline.
The first two years of the Rural Proofing for Health project (November 2002 to April 2005) were funded by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The objectives of a third and final year of the Rural Proofing for Health project (June 2005 to May 2006), funded by Defra, were the ongoing promotion and evaluation of the Toolkit as an action research methodology; the development of a facility to offer advice, support and information to aid implementation and as part of the evaluation; the further promotion of the Database of Good Practice in Rural Health and Wellbeing and the rural proofing for health website; and partnership work with PCTs to provide support for the implementation and application of the Rural Proofing for Health process.
A parallel project conducted by the Institute of Rural Health, with funding from Defra, saw the development of a Database of Good Practice in Rural Health and Wellbeing to highlight and disseminate effective rural service delivery models. The searchable online database can be found at www.ruralhealthgoodpractice.org.uk. Details of several of the innovative examples from the database were included in the Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit. The database continues to be supported by Defra and examples of innovative practice added.
An electronic copy of "Rural Proofing for Health: A Toolkit for Primary Care Organisations" is available for download at www.ruralhealthgoodpractice.org.uk.
For more information please contact:
