Research and Evaluation
The Research and Evaluation team at the National Centre is working to strengthen the rural health evidence base and support better decision-making across Scotland’s primary care and community services. We aim to:
- Build research and evaluation capacity within the remote, rural, and island (RRI) workforce
- Deliver applied projects that support improvements in recruitment, retention, and service sustainability
- Share examples of excellence from the Scottish rural health system
- Learn from and promote international models that work in rural contexts
Key areas of focus include:
- Access to healthcare (barriers, solutions, and service design)
- Health inequalities (rural/urban, social and economic determinants, and what works)
- Workforce challenges (recruitment, retention, training, and impact)
Our goal is to ensure that research and evaluation contribute directly to better services, improved outcomes for people living in RRI areas, and a stronger, more confident workforce.
Young People's opinion sought for Sexual Health Services research
NHS Highland colleagues are conducting a survey on young peoples views of sexual health services in Highland and Argyle and Bute. The survey is for young people aged 13-25. There is funding available for organisations working with young people in rural and remote areas of Highland to participate in the research, more information about this is in the document below.
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Young People's opinion sought for Sexual Health Services research
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Funding opportunity: Help us improve sexual health services for young people in Highland Download (52 KB)
Sexual Health Services research
Trans people needed for rural research
Colleagues at NHS Highland Public Health are carrying out research into primary care and transgender health in remote and rural Scotland, and they need your participation!
They would love to hear from you if you are:
- Living in a rural, remote, or island area of Scotland
- English speaking, and over 18
And you are
A GP working in remote, rural, or island practice in Scotland
OR
- Transgender, non-binary, gender diverse, or trans-historied
Read more about the studies on the posters below, and follow the links to participate in the surveys:
Rural Transgender Health: Primary Care Experiences: GP Participants Survey
Rural Transgender Health: Primary Care Experiences: Trans and Non-Binary Participants Survey
Primary Care experiences
GP participants
Integrating Paramedics in Primary Care: Dumfries and Galloway Case Study
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This case study explores the implementation of integrating Paramedics as part of the Primary Care team to provide unscheduled care visits within General Practices (GP) in Dumfries and Galloway.