Rural Digital Healthcare

Adding value or entrenching inequality? How can digital support personalised, coordinated health and care in rural communities?

Digital tools and technologies can play a role in making access to health and care services easier and improving engagement and outcomes. However, ongoing gaps in digital connectivity, skills and confidence in rural areas mean that health inequalities could worsen if approaches aren’t tailored to specific rural contexts. The Government 10-Year health plan, Fit for the Future, acknowledges the need for tailored service offers to deliver personalised coordinated care in rural communities.This event marks the kick off of a project led by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, working with partners across the North East and North Cumbria region as part of the NortHFutures Digital Health hub, which will bring together lived experience and expertise from across sectors to address this challenge.

Together we will:

• Build a bank of real-world examples of how technologies have already improved access, experience and health outcomes in rural communities.
• Increase understanding of technical and social barriers to realising the potential of digital health in rural communities, and the role that researchers, clinicians, policy makers and community organisations can play.
• Develop a regional network of stakeholders with an interest in supporting rural digital health innovation and blueprints for the collaborative and place-sensitive design and deployment of digital health products and initiatives.

The event will run from 10am – 3pm on Thursday 13th November with lunch provided. Throughout the day there will be sharing of case study examples, interactive workshops focussed around specific challenge areas, and time for informal networking – with space for organisations attending to showcase their work.

If you’re not able to make the event, but would like to find out more or help to inform our rural digital health module, please contact nicre@newcastle.ac.uk.

Full agenda to follow.