Economic, social, and professional factors that influence where health professionals locate their practices are noted, and strategies to reduce maldistribution are discussed. Many strategies to influence the distribution of physicians and other health professionals are directed to recruitment, selection, and training of students. Other strategies concern fiscal incentives and community recruitment of practitioners who are already trained. The policies of special recruitment and preferential admissions have been used to locate rural students, minority applicants, and women who desire to work in underserved areas or specialties, including rural and inner-city areas and such specialties as family practice, psychiatry, and geriatrics, as well as public service programs. Other strategies that might be coordinated by states include: offering students loans or work-study contracts that are forgiven for service in needed areas, but that require severe penalties for defaults; providing strong academic instruction and clinical and residency training in needed specialties/settings; offering role models and counseling for practice in needed settings; involving communities in practitioner recruitment and aid; assuring reasonable income for work in need areas; and changing regulations and laws, such as licensure laws. (SW)