Researchers in rural Australia address a multitude of public health issues including patterns of disease and other health-related states. They examine interventions to prevent disease and promote health in populations using a variety of theories and methods drawn from epidemiology, health services research, sociology and anthropology. This diversity of approaches is represented in this volume and authors address the need for translation of research into action and the achievement of positive health outcomes for communities. While it is not possible in a single volume to provide a comprehensive account of public health enquiry in rural and remote settings, the papers submitted highlight two important topics, Aboriginal health and the related lifestyle issues of obesity and physical activity. While Aboriginal people live in all parts of Australia, those in rural settings suffer worse health and often face poor access to appropriate and effective services. D'Abbs et al.1 present a mixed-method evaluation of a chronic disease strategy designed for Aboriginal communities to permit formative as well as summative conclusions to be drawn about the process and outcomes of services. Senior and Chennal2 report using anthropological methods over an extended period to examine what happens when restrictions on alcohol and sniffable petrol are imposed in a remote community. Focusing their observations on young members of the community, they demonstrate the unintended and community-wide consequences of interventions that address single risks. A second group of papers address the issues of obesity and physical activity from a number of angles. They include a sociological analysis of weight loss among residents of a remote city,3 the evaluation of a community project to lose a metric tonne of weight4 and a sophisticated study of three communities to examine the extent and intensity of physical activity and to infer the likely physical benefits and policy implications of such activity.5 These papers emphasise the value of different yet complementary approaches and research methods in building an evidence base for policy makers and public health practitioners to enable real progress to be achieved and to avoid a succession of disjointed initiatives that do little to reduce the burden of disease in rural and remote communities. Smith et al.6 provide an extensive international review of the evidence for rural or locational factors as determinants of health status as distinct from socioeconomic factors that may be similar in metropolitan settings. They caution that rural health policy must be based on evidence, or risk offering untested solutions to a succession of issues without impacting on entrenched problems. Rural communities are often characterised by workforce shortages and Saini et al.7 describe and evaluate a novel process for the delivery of asthma care through community pharmacies. The final research paper by Uren et al.8 examines the problem of iodine deficiency in the Riverina region of New South Wales.