Impact of an ageing population on service design and delivery in rural areas

Document summary

ILC-UK in conjunction with TNS-BRMB were commissioned by DEFRA to conduct a study on how local service design and delivery needs to respond to an ageing rural population. Rural areas face disproportionate challenges arising from an aging population, compared with urban areas, not least as nearly a quarter of all older people live in rural areas, and as they age their requirements for access to services such as Health, Transport, and Social Services are likely to increase. For service commissioners and deliverers, it is important to understand how ageing impacts upon service delivery so that services can be tailored to address those needs and ensure equitable service delivery to an increasingly important sector of the population.

This research project aimed to:

Understand the impact of an older and ageing population in rural areas on service demand and delivery;
Demonstrate where and how the design and delivery of key services need to be tailored to meet the present and future needs of an ageing rural population; and
To identify any underlying principles of good practice in designing and delivering key services to an older population.