The authors consider the definition and measurement of deprivation and of rurality in the context of health-care research. Parallels are drawn between the methodological issues involved in the measurement of deprivation and of rurality. An empirical study of the South West of England reveals the extent of disagreement between standard rurality measures; in particular, the authors suggest that rural deprivation will be poorly represented by the conventional approaches. They argue for the development of new approaches to the measurement of deprivation in rural areas, in which advantage is taken of contemporary data sources.
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