ABSTRACT
Social and economic change and isolation can be catalysts for a variety of health and wellbeing outcomes, and also for a variety of innovative strategic responses where rural communities and industries take control of their own health and wellbeing. Rural health can link to particular lifestyles and occupations, to the accessibility of health and wellbeing infrastructure (doctors, opportunities for physical activity, etc.), the social networks that provide a soft support to communities and individuals, and, as education is a key social determinant of health, to opportunities for education and learning. This chapter introduces health as a key theme for rural planning before focusing on case studies of rural communities and rural industry bodies who have actively collaborated with organisations to drive improvement in health and wellbeing and support through understanding of their own needs and priorities. It concludes that effective rural health planning should involve strength-based, community health development approaches to build relationships between community members and between community and health services.
