Are you concerned about the matters that affect your health and wellbeing in your rural community? What types of non-NHS interventions do you feel would help your community?
These matters and more will be asked of mid Wales residents in a meeting organised by Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Excellence in Rural Health Research (CERHR), between 6-7.30pm on Thursday, 5 April at the University’s Wellness and Assessment Research Unit (Carwyn James Building, Penglais Campus).
Despite rural areas reporting better health outcomes than urban areas, with higher life expectancy and lower rates of premature deaths, there are challenges and circumstances that disproportionately affect rural populations, which can have a negative impact on their health and wellbeing.
As pressures on the health service continue, there is an increasing need to consider how best to support rural residents in their own communities. The CERHR are interested in hearing firsthand about the issues facing the inhabitants of mid Wales and how it affects their wellbeing so that suitable non-NHS interventions can be proposed or evaluated.
Questions being posed on the night include:
- Who do you feel are most in need of support in your rural communities (e.g., older adults, young people, men, women etc.)?
- Are there any interventions or initiatives (formal or informal) happening in your communities that you feel are making a difference?
Dr Rachel Rahman, Director of the Centre for Excellence in Rural Health Research said: “Living in rural communities can be a wonderful thing, but we are also aware that it brings its own challenges for people when it comes to their health and wellbeing. Replicating interventions that work in urban cities and towns doesn’t always work and it is essential that we hear from our own community about the things that are important to them if we really want to make a difference.”
The information generated on the night will help to inform the research direction of upcoming grant applications exploring non-NHS interventions in rural health and social care.
Refreshments will be provided
If you would like to attend please register by sending an email to: ruralhealth@aber.ac.uk or telephone: 01970 622 643 or 01970621749 before April 2.