Health Provision in Rural Regions

The master’s thesis deals with the assessment of future primary healthcare provision in the rural region of Adelboden, a municipality and tourist destination in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Due to an ageing population, the municipality is facing the challenge of a changing and increasing demand for healthcare services. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit healthcare professionals. Additionally, as Adelboden is a popular tourist destination, the population potentially needing healthcare varies strongly depending on the holiday season, which further challenges the provision of healthcare services.

The thesis aims to assess the preferences of the local population of the rural municipality of Adelboden regarding future primary care provision. Thereby, the thesis specially focuses on the potential difference in preferences between chronically and non-chronically ill individuals. For this purpose, a broad-based online survey is conducted in the municipality to determine the perspectives and preferences of the local population. As a complement, semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders are conducted to take the perspective of key actors in the area of health and politics into account and to provide a more holistic perspective. The findings of the thesis will be made available to the municipality to provide new insights for the local healthcare provision.

More information about this master’s thesis project and the local partners can be found in the article of the local newspaper Frutigländer.