Identifying rural health care needs using community conversations.

Context: Community input can lead to better-defined goals in an organization. With this in mind, the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences embarked on a series of 13 meetings with representatives of organizations serving rural communities, including 5 Native American reservations.

Purpose: To give a detailed description of the steps involved in planning, and the outcomes and lessons learned from the meetings.