Research publications
To obtain a copy of any publication please contact:
Gareth McMurdo
Finance and Administration OfficerDelivering Care in the Countryside: Taking Care Farming forward in Wales October 2011
Funded through the Rural Health Innovation Fund of Welsh Government the research investigated the current nature, activity and extent of care farming in Wales; explored the actual and potential contribution of care farming to health and social care in Wales; and outlined the next steps for the development of care farming activity in Wales.
Development of ten case studies that reflect the challenges faced by GPs in dealing with employment related issues
The Deanery in Cardiff University on behalf of Public Health Wales, commissioned the IRH to produce 10 case studies, based on the evidence, which reflect the challenges faced by GPs in dealing with employment related issues on a Wales wide basis. The case studies are being used as training for general practice but the report of the project includes a literature and the results of the methodlogy used to identify the main employment sectors in Wales, the major types of illness causing employment related issues and major challenges being faced by GPs when dealing with work related issues.
DiARCH project
This action research project (funded by the Foundation of Nursing Studies) was in collaboration with Powys LHB Diabetes Specialist Nurses. The project implemented the action plans developed in the first phase in each of the three care homes involved in the project. Action was taken on issues such as diet (removing 'diabetic' foods from the menu); establishing annual reviews for care home residents; and providing education sessions for staff. The impact of the project was evaluated and ways of working which are transferable to other care homes were identified.
A proposal to identify the additional skills and knowledge required by rural GPs to work in rural Wales
This research (funded by the Postgraduate Deanery of Cardiff Unversity) built on the findings of the research undertaken to contribute to the development of a Rural Health Plan for Wales and also some early research undertaken by IRH, using a Delphi study, to reach consensus on the work load of rural GPs and a research project on the Nature of Rural General Practice.
The aim of this proposal was to identify the additional skills and knowledge required by a general practitioner in order to work in rural Wales and addressed the following questions:
- What are the perceived additional skills and knowledge required by rural GPs to work in rural Wales?
- What impact does rurality have on GPs way of working?
- How does the work profile and responsibilities of rural GPs differ from those in urban and less sparse areas?
- What are the gaps in knowledge between under-graduate medical education and the knowledge required to work in rural general practice?
- What are the skills required to be a rural GP?
Health in Rural Wales — A research report to support the development of the Rural Health Plan for Wales
The research undertaken by IRH to support the development of the Rural Health Plan in Wales has now been published and accompanies the publication of the consultation document "Rural Health Planning - Improving service delivery across Wales".
The IRH project sought to answer the following three questions:
- What are the current critical health and service delivery issues for rural Wales?
- Is there any geographical variation in these key issues across rural Wales?
- What are effective models of service delivery to meet the health and well-being needs of people in rural Wales?
Information was collected through a review of published data, a review of the literature and a review of examples of good practice.
South Shropshire Rural Campus — undergraduate medical education in rural South Shropshire
Internationally there has been an interest in under-graduate medical education in rural areas for several decades prompted by challenges in recruiting and retaining rural doctors. In the UK initiatives to provide rural exposure during under-graduate training are relatively new.
The aim of this study has been to explore the potential opportunities and barriers to developing a rural element to the new under-graduate medical curriculum at Keele.
- Download the executive summary (Word document)
Natural Heritage — a pathway to health
The natural environment can play a key role in improving public health and wellbeing, says a major report from the Countryside Council for Wales.
Researchers from the Institute of Rural Wales (IRH) spent a year studying what impact the natural environment - everything from allotments, urban parks, woodland and lakes to the countryside, mountains, rivers and sea - has on health and wellbeing.
- Download the report (PDF)
Undergraduate medical education in rural settings
This report is premised on the increasing demand for undergraduate medical placements in rural areas, increasing student numbers and the evidence of the importance of rural exposure during undergraduate training on recruitment and retention of rural GPs. The survey took place over six months.
Rural Health Intelligence Programme: Main Findings and Recommendations
This eighteen-month research study (completed in summer 2003) was undertaken by the Institute of Rural Health on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales to strengthen the evidence base for rural health issues to inform policy that may influence the health and well being of rural populations in Wales.
The aim of the research programme was threefold:
- To provide a baseline with respect to the health of people in rural Wales and identify key datasets for future monitoring
- To identify good practice in national and local health policy where rurality has been taken into consideration
- To identify benefits and limitations of initiatives specifically targeted at improving rural health.
This report is the fourth report in the series.
Rural proofing the new GMS contract
This report, produced by the Institute of Rural Health and funded by the General Practitioners' Defence Fund, examines the new General Medical Services contract from the rural perspective, in order to ascertain the implications of the contract for rural GPs, rural primary care services and rural patients in the UK.
Volunteering On Prescription
An evaluation report of a project to encourage the uptake of volunteering by people with mental health problems.
Rural Health Intelligence Programme
This eighteen-month research study was undertaken by the Institute of Rural Health on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales to strengthen the evidence base for rural health issues to inform policy that may influence the health and well being of rural populations in Wales.
The aim of the research programme was threefold:
- To provide a baseline with respect to the health of people in rural Wales and identify key datasets for future monitoring.
- To identify good practice in national and local health policy where rurality has been taken into consideration.
- To identify benefits and limitations of initiatives specifically targeted at improving rural health.
Eight reports were produced by the Institute of Rural Health for the Welsh Assembly Government as part of the Rural Health Intelligence Programme:
- A review of the literature: measurement issues in rural health - English Version / Welsh Version
- A review of the literature: access and service models in rural health - English Version / Welsh Version
- A review of the literature: social inclusion and rural health - English Version / Welsh Version
- Rural Health Intelligence Programme: main findings and recommendations English Version / Welsh Version
- The state of rural health and well-being in Wales (awaiting publication by Welsh Assembly Government)
- Rural health policy review (awaiting publication by Welsh Assembly Government)
- The use of health impact assessment in rural Wales - English Version / Welsh Version
- Contemporary rural health issues: intelligence from Wales and beyond - English Version / Welsh Version
Rural Proofing for Health: A Toolkit for Primary Care Organisations
Helen Swindlehurst, March 2005
The Department of Health (DH) and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) funded the development of 'Rural Proofing for Health: A Toolkit for Primary Care Organisations'. The Toolkit assists service providers with rural proofing service delivery and aims to help those responsible for the design and delivery of health services to consider the rural dimension. The Toolkit aims to assist careful consideration of service design to ensure that rural communities are not disadvantaged in relation to their needs for health services.
An electronic version of the Toolkit is available for free download from www.ruralhealthgoodpractice.org.uk
Think Rural Health Data
A guide for those interested in the analysis and use of data relevant to health issues in rural communities. Drawing on the key issues raised in Health Data - a Health Check, this booklet also includes a CDRom with the full Master table from that report.
Jenny Deaville, Kate Mitchinson, Louise Wilson
Think Rural Health
Institute of Rural Health, The Countryside Agency, Rural Health Forum
Jenny Deaville, Kate Mitchinson, Louise Wilson
Health Data - a Health Check
A Technical Research Report funded by Defra, December 2004
Original research report compiled and written by: Dr Jenny Deaville, Alice Earp, Lesley Jones, Pat Davies, Jane Parry, Professor Gilbert MacKenzie & Nicola Gillon
Institute of Rural Health & Centre for Medical Statistics, Keele University
ISBN: 0-85521-139-3
The impact of the foot and mouth outbreak on mental health and wellbeing in Wales
November 2003
Institute of Rural Health & University of Glamorgan
A cultural and spatial analysis of adolescent substance misuse in rural Wales: final report.
January 2002
The final report of research funded by the Community Fund.
Author: Trish Buchan
IRH Report No: 11
Cost £7.50
ISBN: 1-903759-03-X
Asthma Active
Design and evaluation of a computer aided learning program for children with asthma: Executive summary
March 2002
An executive summary of PhD research
Author: Louise Wilson
IRH Report No: 12
Cost: £5.00
ISBN: 1-903759-04-8
The nature of rural general practice in the UK - preliminary research
March 2001
A joint report from the Institute of Rural Health and the General Practitioners Committee of the BMA
Author:Jenny Deaville
IRH report No:9
Cost £20
ISBN 1-903759-01-3
- Download the Executive Summary (Word Document)
A Cultural And Spatial Analysis Of Adolescent Substance Misuse In Rural Wales: Lessons from the Literature
November 2000
A report of research funded by the National Lottery Charities Board.
Author: Trish Buchan
IRH report No:8
Cost: £7:50
ISBN 1 903759 00 5
The causes and effects of stress in farming communities in East Anglia
January 2000
A report of research undertaken on behalf of the Countryside Agency, East of England Region.
Author: Pat Davies
IRH report No:7
Farm suicide in rural Wales — a review of the services in Powys and Ceredigion
September 1999
A report of research funded by the Welsh office.
Authors: Sandra Boulanger, Jenny Deaville, Jane Randall-Smith and John Wynn Jones
IRH report No:3
Farmers' Stress Survey — a questionnaire carried out at the Royal Welsh Show into stress factors experienced by farmers
May 1999
A report of research initiated by the Powys Rural Stress Group.
Authors: Sandra Boulanger, Alice Gilman, Jenny Deaville and Leslie Pollock
IRH report No:4
A report on preliminary work into unrecognised psychiatric morbidity in farmers and other occupational groups
March 1999
A literature review funded by CAPRICORN.
Authors: Jenny Deaville
IRH report No:5
Asthma in Schools — A survey of school teachers knowledge of, and attitudes to, asthma in children
1999
A report of the results of a questionnaire sent out to all head teachers in Powys and associated with the childhood asthma project.
Author: Louise Wilson.
IRH report No:6
A Breath of Fresh Air — A literature Review of Trends in the Epidemiology, Treatment and Management of Childhood asthma
September 1998
A report of literature searched for a 15 month project on childhood asthma in association with Merck, Sharp & Dohme.
Author: Louise Wilson.
IRH report No:2
A study to obtain a definition of rurality and to investigate the problems encountered by practitioners who work in rural health settings
July 1998
Institute of Rural Health and School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Glamorgan
A report of research funded by the Wales Office of Research and Development for Health and Social Care.
Author: Jenny Deaville
IRH report No:1