Please circulate this Guidance document and feedback survey if you may.
Best
David
HIFA profile: David Cawthorpe is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, Canada. His professional interests include: Human Development, Developmental Psychopathology, and Delivery of low bandwidth medical education curriculum. cawthord AT ucalgary.ca
From "The Network: Towards Unity For Health" <sectretariat@thenetworktufh.org>
Subject Help Shape Global Guidance for Rural & Remote Health
Date April 17, 2026 at 02:39:30 MDT
Guidance on Evidence-Based Healthcare Strategies to Serve Rural & Remote Communities
Rural and remote communities are not peripheral — they are central to the fabric of our societies.
Through the Communities of Practice for Remote and Rural Health, in collaboration with Rural Wonca, The National Center for Rural Health Professions, Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia, and Rural Doctors Network, we have developed a draft Guidance on Evidence-Based Healthcare Strategies to Serve Rural and Remote Communities.
Now, we are inviting the wider TUFH Network to help strengthen it.
This draft Guidance:
* Brings a rural lens to global health systems
* Focuses on access as the defining challenge in rural health
* Addresses funding, workforce, infrastructure, culture, and equity
* Recognizes socioeconomic overlays and preventable disease burdens
* Highlights vulnerable groups, including Indigenous communities, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities
* Draws on global case studies from Canada, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Ethiopia, and beyond
* Proposes actionable, adaptable strategies grounded in evidence and expert consensus
Importantly, the paper intentionally shifts away from a deficit narrative toward one that recognizes rural strengths, resilience, and community-driven solutions.
We Need Your Input
We are seeking feedback that helps us ensure this Guidance is:
* Globally relevant across diverse rural contexts
* Practical and implementable
* Inclusive of LMIC realities
* Clear in its recommendations
* Strengthened by lived experience and frontline practice
Through the consultation survey, we are specifically inviting your reflections on:
* Clarity of definitions (e.g., rurality, generalist workforce, access)
* Gaps in evidence or missing priority issues
* Feasibility of implementation strategies
* Cultural responsiveness and community engagement
* Additional case studies or models to include
* Areas needing further research or clarification
Your expertise — whether as a policymaker, academic, practitioner, community leader, or advocate — is essential.
We request your input in any of the following forms by April 30th.
Specific Feedback Forms
(Deadline for Feedback is April 30th)
Access Draft Paper ��<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf...
1. If you have any suggestions on specific content, additional references to cite existing or new information, or other updates, please fill out this form:
Guidance Document - Content Body – Fill out form ��<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf...
2. If you have any specific information that can be used to include solutions and successes that could better reflect rural realities for each of the document sections, please fill out this form:
Guidance on evidence-based healthcare strategies to serve rural and remote communities. – Fill out form ��<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf...
3. If you have specific lessons from regions that can be included in the Guidance Document, please fill out this form:
Guidance Document - Lessons Learned from Different Regions – Fill out form ��<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf...
4. If you have specific evidence that can be used to describe the relative contribution of patient factors and access factors in rural disease, please fill out this form:
Evidence-based relative contribution of patient and access factors for rural disease – Fill out form ��<https://thenetworktufh.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=742357d7350b0bf...
[https://mcusercontent.com/742357d7350b0bf9f9591c8ab/images/c88c952b-d21d...
Why This Matters
Health disparities in rural and remote communities are rarely about incidence alone. They are about access, equity, and systems design.
This Guidance aims to support:
* Policymakers designing rural-responsive systems
* Health workforce planners
* Universities and training institutions
* Community health leaders
* Global partners advancing Universal Health Coverage
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