Yorkshire coast research partnership helping tackle health inequalities in rural and coastal communities
06 November 2026
A pioneering research partnership on the Yorkshire coast is helping put rural and coastal communities at the heart of health research, as a new report from England’s Chief Medical Officer highlights the health challenges facing people living in rural areas.
The Scarborough Coastal Health and Care Research Collaborative (SHARC) brings together York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York St John University and community partners to better understand and address the health inequalities experienced by people living in coastal and rural communities.
Published today, the Chief Medical Officer’s 2026 annual report, Health in Rural Areas and Small Towns, highlights how rural populations are generally older and ageing more rapidly than those in urban areas, placing increasing demands on health and social care services. Limited public transport and difficulties accessing healthcare can create additional challenges for people living in these communities.
The report makes clear that approaches to healthcare which work in cities cannot simply be replicated in rural areas and small towns. Services, systems and training must reflect the different needs and circumstances of these populations.
A key recommendation is that health services should be planned and designed locally, around the clinical needs of the communities they serve, while recognising that addressing the particular challenges facing rural areas and small towns is also a national responsibility for government and the NHS.
The new report follows Professor Chris Whitty’s landmark 2021 report Health in Coastal Communities, which highlighted significant disparities between the health of people living in coastal areas and their inland neighbours. That report identified a range of factors affecting health, including deprivation, housing, employment, education, transport and access to health and care services. Crucially, it also called for more research and better data to understand the specific health needs of coastal communities and inform action to improve them.
It’s a challenge SHARC has been working to address.
Developed from the Scarborough Multiple Long Term Conditions Research Hub, SHARC brings together researchers, clinicians, voluntary and community organisations, public sector partners and local people to identify the issues that matter to communities and develop research around those priorities.
Its work recognises that improving health is not simply about healthcare. Where people live, work and socialise, their ability to access services and support, and the opportunities available within their communities can all influence their health and wellbeing.
Head of Research and Innovation at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Lydia Harris, explained: “The Chief Medical Officer’s latest report reinforces why research in rural and coastal communities matters and why we need to make sure these populations are properly represented in the evidence that shapes health and care.
“Since the development of SHARC, we have worked with more than 240 community groups, charities and organisations across different sectors, bringing together people with very different experiences and expertise to help identify and investigate the issues that matter to our communities.
“Research cannot simply be something that happens to communities. We need local people and organisations involved in identifying the questions, designing the research and helping us understand what the findings mean in the real world.
“That is what SHARC is helping us to achieve. By building these relationships and creating opportunities for communities to influence research, we can develop a much stronger evidence base around rural and coastal health and, ultimately, use that evidence to help improve health and reduce inequalities.”
SHARC’s work spans a growing range of health and care priorities, bringing together partners from across health, care, local government, universities and the voluntary and community sector.
Projects and partnerships have explored areas including cancer, maternity, emergency care, multiple long-term conditions and wider health inequalities, while collaboration with other NHS organisations and ambulance services is helping researchers better understand how services can respond to the particular needs of rural populations.
Community involvement is central to its approach. SHARC works with residents, service users and community organisations to co-produce research and has engaged with groups including older people, people with disabilities, migrant workers, LGBTQIA+ communities and people experiencing homelessness.
Its Community Research Grants programme, delivered with York St John University, is also giving voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations the opportunity to work directly with academic researchers to investigate questions arising from their own communities.
Academic Lead for SHARC and Professor of Health and Physical Activity at York St John University, Professor David Broom, said: “One of SHARC’s strengths is bringing together academic and clinical research expertise with something equally important - the knowledge and experience that already exists within our communities.
“Rural and coastal communities are not all the same, and we cannot assume that evidence generated elsewhere will always reflect their circumstances or provide the answers they need. By working alongside communities from the outset, we can ask better questions, develop research that reflects local priorities and generate evidence with the potential to make a practical difference.
“The Chief Medical Officer’s focus on rural health provides an important opportunity to build on this work and ensure rural and coastal populations are properly represented in research, locally and nationally.”
That collaborative approach is already making a difference to organisations working within coastal communities.
North Yorkshire Coast Outdoor Activities Development Officer, Sam Allum, from The Outdoor Partnership, said: “The support from SHARC has been great. Having people who know the health and research sectors in the way they do has helped us navigate those sectors and use that knowledge within funding applications and our day-to-day work.
“We as an organisation have our expertise and knowledge; what SHARC can bring is a different expertise. They have supported us with funding bids and connecting us to the right people, and we can't wait to see what this relationship brings in the future.”
Chief Executive of The Hinge Centre, Jo Sanders-Potts, said: “Usually when I go to a meeting, I’m the only VCSE organisation in the room. Here I’m one of many. I have a voice and you are listening.”
SHARC will continue to build its network of community, academic and health and care partners, develop new research and champion greater representation of rural and coastal communities in local and national research.
Lydia added: “There is still a great deal we need to understand about the health of rural and coastal populations. The publication of this report is another important reminder that where someone lives should not determine their opportunities for good health.
“SHARC gives us a fantastic foundation from which to keep asking those questions, working with our communities and making sure rural and coastal voices are part of the research that shapes the future of health and care.”
Notes to editors
The Scarborough Coastal Health and Care Research Collaborative (SHARC) is co-funded by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and York St John University and brings together academic, clinical and community expertise to better address the health and care needs of coastal populations through collaborative research with community involvement.
SHARC developed from the Scarborough Multiple Long Term Conditions Research Hub, launched in January 2022 to grow clinical research in Scarborough and improve access to research opportunities for its under-researched population.
Professor Chris Whitty’s 2021 Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report, Health in Coastal Communities, highlighted the higher burden of physical and mental health conditions experienced by many coastal communities and called for improved data and actionable research into their health needs.
