Reports

In December, the Academy for Health Service Research and Health Policy and Networking for Rural Health Project (with sponsorship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) conducted a national health policy conference. Rural community leaders and health care providers, Federal and state ofŽ cials, educators, and researchers convened to discuss continuing and emerging problems as well as possible solutions. Rural partnerships are struggling with persistent challenges inherent to rural health care Ž nancing and delivery, which have critical implications for public policy. The main objective of the conference was to explore collaborative strategies addressing issues affecting health care services for rural populations, focusing on: