An invitational conference brought experts and concerned, active individuals together to review and identify research and program needs for rural Texas health care. The goals of the conference were to prioritize the top five program and research activities for rural health care in the 1980's, to develop a network of communication and cooperation among individuals and groups with complimentary interests in Texas rural health care, and to develop a plan of action for the identified program and research priorities. The selected priorities included creation of a State Office of Rural Health, increase in the number of rural health personnel, expansion of the legal functions of nurse practitioners, identification of unmet health needs, evaluation of county service delivery systems, and identification and description of innovative community problem solving efforts. The first section of the conference report discusses the method used by conference facilitators to identify program and research priorities. The second section, consisting of program research priorities, provides a detailed description of the results of the planning sessions. The third section reports the participant's evaluation of the conference, and the final section summarizes conference findings and delineates future directions. Appendices include a directory of conference participants and the guide for conference facilitators. (JH)