Rapid Rural Appraisal: Its Role in Health Planning in Developing Countries

Abstract

There is an urgent need for a quick inexpensive and reliable method for identifying groups and individuals most in need of primary health care. The Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) is the most appropriate approach. It is a method by which resources can be quickly deployed to alleviate the problems of the poor. If properly used it can play a major role in identifying community health needs thereby aiding the health planning process and improving the health of the people. Nevertheless, RRA techniques should not be regarded as separate and apart from other research methodologies but complementary to them.

Rapid appraisal of needs in reproductive health care in southern Sudan: qualitative study

“…These do not routinely include contributions from the community. This contrasts with the techniques of rapid appraisal,14 – 16 which have been used in many different contexts, including in the United Kingdom, to assess health needs in primary care 17. The original objectives were to provide good quality and timely information, and to include local people, producing results that would lead directly to interventions.…”

Identifying barriers and potential solutions to improve equitable access to community eye services in Botswana, India, Kenya, and Nepal: a rapid exploratory sequential mixed methods study protocol

“…69 These studies generally take between a few days to a few months, depending on the design, with most taking a couple of weeks to complete. 68,71 A large number of dedicated approaches have been developed, including ‘Rapid Ethnographic Assessment’, 72 ‘Participatory Rural Appraisal’, 73 ‘Rapid Rural Appraisal’, 74 ‘Rapid Appraisal’ (a form of ‘Rapid Qualitative Enquiry’), 61 ‘Rapid Assessment Procedures’, 61,67 and ‘Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation’. 75,76…”

“…69 These studies generally take between a few days to a few months, depending on the design, with most taking a couple of weeks to complete. 68,71 A large number of dedicated approaches have been developed, including 'Rapid Ethnographic Assessment', 72 'Participatory Rural Appraisal', 73 'Rapid Rural Appraisal', 74 'Rapid Appraisal' (a form of 'Rapid Qualitative Enquiry'), 61 'Rapid Assessment Procedures', 61,67 and 'Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation'. 75,76 In their review of rapid qualitative methods, McNall and Foster-Fishman identify the following key features: these studies commonly use mixed and multi methods to triangulate data; they tend to be participatory -with representatives of the target population involved in planning and implementation; they are team-based with all members working collaboratively on all aspects of the research process; and they are iterative -with data being analysed as they are collected and early findings being used to guide additional data collection until theoretical saturation is reached.…”

Identifying children with neurological impairment and disability in resource‐poor countries

“…Rapid rural appraisal had its origins in agricultural surveys, but has recently been used in health research (Melville 1993). It consists of a series of techniques that generate results of less apparent precision, but greater evidential value, than surveys.…”