National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care: evaluation

Chapter 2: Methodology

This evaluation adopted a mixed-methods approach to provide a detailed assessment of the National Centre’s progress during its inaugural phase. Combining documentary analysis, survey data, qualitative interviews and two reflection workshops allowed researchers to triangulate evidence and capture both breadth and depth of stakeholder perspectives.

Evaluation stages

The evaluation consisted of four data collection stages: documentary analysis, a stakeholder survey, stakeholder interviews and two stakeholder reflection workshops.

Documentary Analysis

The evaluation began with a review of documents provided by The National Centre and its partners. These included meeting minutes, progress reports, quarterly updates and funding reports. This stage was ongoing throughout the evaluation and provided essential context on governance, activities, outputs and informed the design of subsequent research tools.

Survey

An online survey was distributed to stakeholders engaged with the National Centre’s work via communications from NES. The survey achieved 73 responses, capturing views from healthcare professionals, managers and representatives from partner organisations including international partners. Questions explored awareness, engagement and perceived benefits from the National Centre’s work, as well as priorities for its future development.

Interviews

To complement the survey, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants, including healthcare professionals working in remote and rural settings, healthcare management consultants, NES staff and third-sector representatives. Interviews provided qualitative insights into experiences of the National Centre’s activities, perceived impact and suggestions for improvement.

Reflection Workshops

A half-day reflection workshop was held with stakeholders in October 2025 to review emerging findings and discuss priorities for potential future phases of the Centre’s work. A second supplementary workshop was held in November 2025 with stakeholders who were unable to attend the first date. These sessions enabled collaborative interpretation of evidence and identification of practical recommendations. Stakeholders represented Scottish Government policy, analysis, and professional advisors, NES staff who manage the National Centre, and rural and remote healthcare professionals.

Approach to Analysis

Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations to identify patterns across respondent groups. Qualitative data from interviews and the workshop were thematically coded, using Quirkos software, to capture recurring themes, illustrative quotes and divergent perspectives. Findings from documentary analysis were triangulated with primary research to ensure robustness and contextual understanding.

Limitations

Several limitations should be noted. Firstly, the evaluation took place during the National Centre’s inaugural phase, meaning some impacts were still progressing. Further work has been undertaken since the completion of the evaluation fieldwork and is available on the National Centre’s web page.

While the survey and interviews achieved good coverage across the range of professionals targeted, and 10 stakeholders participated across the two reflection workshops, participation was voluntary and may not fully represent all stakeholder views. While the survey received 73 responses, individual questions had smaller responses sizes and as such may not be representative of the entire target audience of the National Centre’s work; the numbers of responses is given throughout the report to provide context to support interpretation of results. Limited awareness of the National Centre among some groups may also have constrained engagement with the research across certain groups involved in rural healthcare. These factors were considered when interpreting findings and developing recommendations.