In 1994, the federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded 3-year outreach demonstration grants to 81 projects to provide direct primary and preventive health care services to rural residents in 42 states and 2 U.S. territories. The outreach grant program allows recipients to test innovative ideas against the persistent problems of rural health care, such as provider shortages, fragmented delivery systems, and geographic isolation. Recipients are required to form a consortium of three or more local institutions to work together toward project goals. Overall, the projects addressed a broad range of rural health care needs. Over half focused on the specific needs of mothers, infants, children, and adolescents. Rural minorities, including Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans, were the primary beneficiaries in 25 projects. Twenty-four addressed the needs of the elderly, and seven targeted migrant and seasonal farmworkers, offering bilingual, culturally specific information and services. Twenty-two projects focused their activities in rural schools, which are convenient and effective sites for rural service delivery. Almost every project provided some type of health promotion/education programming for the public. Over 25 percent provided continuing education opportunities to health professionals. Important project elements included volunteerism, use of telecommunications technologies, and provision of mobile services or client transportation. Short descriptions of the 81 projects summarize activities and include innovative features, obstacles encountered, reasons for success, and contact information. (Contains title and subject indexes.) (SV)