Rural health: why it matters

The year 2002, the 'year of the outback', provides the opportunity to reflect on why rural health matters and why it continues to be important for Australia. The need for a distinctive rural health approach is argued for in this editorial with rural health issues warranting specific and ongoing attention for the following reasons: outback Australia is different from metropolitan Australia; health differentials between the city and the outback; improving rural health is integral to rural and regional development; and there are lessons to be learned from the solutions that have arisen in response to the problems of rural health.