Whither rural health? Reviewing a decade of progress in rural health.

The problems associated with rural and remote health have been widely recognised by health workers, rural communities and health professions for some time. Yet it has only been in the past decade that any concerted effort has been made to address rural health issues. Today the state of health in rural Australia remains less than optimal. The tenth anniversary of the Australian Journal of Rural Health provides the opportunity to reflect on what progress has been achieved over the past decade, to recognise those factors that have contributed most to the implementation of policies designed to address the health needs of rural and remote Australians, and to discuss outstanding impediments and barriers to resolving rural health issues.