Over the next few months, we are undertaking research commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to look into residents experiences of living in areas of rural Oxfordshire. Together with Healthwatch Oxfordshire, we will ask people’s views about living in these communities and some of the assets, barriers and opportunities faced. We want to understand what helps people stay healthy and well, and what makes this difficult.
The two focus areas are:
- Cropredy, Heyford,Yarnton, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Long Hanborough, Freeland(to be led by Community First Oxfordshire)
- Deddington,Chalgrove, Sonning Common, Faringdon, Stanford in the Vale, Shrivenham,Watchfield (to be led by Healthwatch Oxfordshire)
We will be running an online and paper survey open until 1 April 2026. We will also be holding focus groups for up to 12 selected participants in each of the 14 communities.
If you live in one of these areas, please fill in our survey in online here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/rurallivingpublic/
We can also provide surveys in printed format, easy read and other languages on request, just get in touch by emailing [email protected] or calling 01865 520 520.
We want to reach as many people as we can, so please do help to circulate the online survey link, via the posters, and in any local newsletters, groups or in person, it is important to include lots of local experiences.
Why are we doing this research?
This work is part of Oxfordshire’s coordinated focus on understanding the barriers and opportunities to health and care in rural areas, and the wider building blocks of health. These communities have been selected on the basis of ‘population health data’ which indicates that they have pockets of inequalities in health. This is part of Oxfordshire Marmot focus on health inequalities and tackling the underlying causes (See here for more information).
The final report will be used by Oxfordshire County Council and others to help plan services and understand more about the needs of these rural communities.