ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the extent to which national health programmes implemented in the last 20 years, as well as those specifically targeted to rural and remote areas, have succeeded in reducing the gap between metropolitan and rural health and well-being. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that, factors influencing the health outcomes of people living in rural areas are discussed. Poorer health outcomes are not solely the result of limited access to services; social determinants, including economic, social and cultural factors, are also influential. In Australia, governments were slow in starting to acknowledge and respond to the distinctive health needs of rural and remote communities. In 1990 a report from the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) Rural Health Care Task Force identified some priority rural health issues. Medicare Locals have been introduced to improve the coordination of primary care service delivery and ensure the needs of each local community are met.
