15 April 2026
Rural and Coastal Communities:
Working Together through Research, Innovation and Collaboration for healthier lives
Venue: King's Conference Centre, Upper Northam Rd, Hedge End SO30 4BZ
Working together, this year’s event aims to spotlight the health challenges faced by rural and coastal communities in Wessex, catalyse collaboration across sectors, explore approaches to reducing inequalities and improving access, and align regional efforts with national research and innovation priorities. Find out more here.
Join us to shape the future of health equity and drive meaningful change across coastal and rural communities in Wessex. Meet our speakers.
This year’s event objectives
Join us to:
Raise Awareness - highlight the scale and impact of rural and coastal health inequalities
Inspire Action - share evidence gaps and opportunities for change
Foster Collaboration - enable networking and partnerships across academia, healthcare, voluntary community sector (VCS) and industry.
This year’s event is held in the fantastic community space offered by King’s Conference Centre in Hedge End. There is a free car park in Upper Northam Road, using the postcode SO30 4BZ
Christine McGrath
Managing DirectorWilliam Rosenberg
ChairWe invite your poster submissions, focusing on health challenges in rural and coastal communities across Wessex. If your work helps understand or address these inequalities, we want to hear from you.
Find out moreNestled in the Durley countryside, Frost Creative is proud to have worked with Wessex Health Partners on a number of initiatives. Whether it’s amplifying your uniqueness and telling stories that resonate. Or helping you stand out, spark engagement and awareness, all whilst achieving stakeholder alignment and positive change. We can help take the weight off your marketing, communications and leadership team’s shoulders.
Please note, sponsorship does not equate to WHP's endorsement of a compay, its services and/or products
Our region is home to leading health and care research organisations. As part of that group ARC Wessex brings applied research to our health and care systems in the region and beyond. Wessex Health Partners amplifies the impact of all our achievements and talents. We are delighted to be supporting this year’s Big Conversation and its special focus on rural and costal health.