National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care: Information Hub

The National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care is delighted to share details of the first programmes of work granted funding through our Remote and Rural Primary Care Research and Evaluation funding opportunity. The Centre has been able to identify funding to support NHS primary care practitioners who wish to carry out research or evaluation activities pertinent to remote and rural health and care in Scotland.

These projects represent significant personal and professional development for these primary care practitioners working in remote and rural practice in Scotland. The Centre will also provide professional and pastoral support throughout their studies and assist with sharing the research findings and outputs to relevant audiences.

We’re still taking applications for our 2025-26 round of funding. To find out more and fill in our application form visit our Turas page for details.

 A music therapist based in Ayrshire and Arran was awarded funding to undertake a master’s degree in healthcare management. Through the research component of the course, they will explore themes around the challenges in supporting the Allied Health Professionals (AHP) workforce in rural areas and the role of organisational leadership in that support.

A Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner from Perth and Kinross was awarded funding to commence doctoral studies. The professional doctorate will build on this practitioner’s master’s work on the impact of Advanced Nurse Practitioner led Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment underpinning the values of person-centred care. Incorporating nurse led CGA has been justified within urban primary care settings, proving effectiveness and improved patient outcomes however this has not previously been established or evaluated within rural and remote areas.

A Specialist Orthodontist from Shetland was granted funding towards their ongoing PhD studies researching the impact of orthodontics as a specialty on the climate crisis. The research is looking at the carbon footprint of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment in Shetland with factors such as travel to and from clinics having a potentially greater impact than urban equivalents.

A General Practitioner from Highland was awarded funding to develop and pilot a mobile digital platform (Athlete SOS) to support emergency response, injury tracking, and medical data sharing for amateur athletes. The objective is to improve the safety, accessibility and equity of participation for all athletes, particularly juniors and underserved rural clubs where there is a lack of consistent emergency cover in amateur clubs within rural Highland regions. A mixed methods evaluation will be undertaken using digital usage metrics, surveys, interviews.

A Health Improvement Lead from NHS Highland was awarded funding to undertake an evaluation project on assessing the implementation and impact of Community Link Workers in islands in Argyll and Bute. The objective of the evaluation is to understand how the  Community Link Worker scheme can be tailored to meet needs of island communities and inform future development of this and other similar programmes with the view to generating evidence on the Community Link Worker role in reducing health inequalities and improving access to services in rural areas.

A General Practitioner from Highland was awarded funding to undertake an evaluation of data being collected over a three-year period as part of partnership between End-of-Life Together and GP practices in North Highland Health and Social Care Partnership. The objective is to use the data in more meaningful ways at board, cluster and practice level and a robust evaluation is required to ensure that it is of maximum value.

A GP Partner and Practice Manager from the Western Isles were awarded funding to undertake the redesign of diabetic care in a rural general practice as an evidence-based pilot project. A mixed methods approach has been undertaken to evaluate the current diabetic service and inform resign. The objectives is to improve nurse job satisfaction, patient satisfaction and health outcomes, reduce the number of appointments and increase My Diabetes My Way uptake.