Market Health Project v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Market Health Project: Improving access and outcomes in preventative health services for the farming community
IRAS ID
361090
Contact name
G.J. Melendez-Torres
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
Farmers live and work in rural areas, often far from GP surgeries and hospitals. They work long hours, often 7 days a week and because of this it can be hard for them to plan or book appointments. As a result, many farmers only see a doctor when a problem becomes serious. This means they may miss out on early advice or checks for things like blood pressure, mental health, or cancer screening.
Livestock markets bring farmers together in one place and offer a good opportunity to provide easy access to health services for those in the farming community. Some markets in the UK already have on site health services, but there has been little research to understand how well these work, who benefits most, and what helps them succeed.
This study, funded by the NIHR Three Schools Prevention Research Programme, will evaluate a new health coaching service at Holsworthy Livestock Market. The service will run for 12 months and is provided by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB). It offers personalised support to help people make small, realistic changes to improve their health. Trusted and respected members of the farming community, termed ‘opinion leaders’, will also encourage people to use the health coaching service.
We will work closely with farmers, farming organisations and other local partners to understand how well the service works and how it could be improved. Using interviews and health data, we will explore what helps people use the service and whether it supports better health and wellbeing. The findings will guide future work to develop similar services at livestock markets across the UK.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
26/WA/0149
Date of REC Opinion
29 May 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion