ABSTRACT
The central position of the primary care team within the NHS provides an important opportunity to undertake long-term epidemiological research. Almost everyone living in the UK is registered with a named general practitioner who contracts to provide primary care services. Each practice, therefore, cares for a defined population from which individuals with particular characteristics can be identified and recruited for research purposes. For nearly 30 years, the Royal College of General Practitioners' (RCGP) Centre for Primary Care Research and Epidemiology has successfully exploited the opportunity provided by general practice to undertake epidemiological research. Aware of the success of the Oral Contraception Study, the Department of Health approached the RCGP to see whether it could undertake a similar observational study of the health effects of induced abortion. This led to the euphemistically titled Attitudes to Pregnancy Study, a collaborative effort between the RCGP and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
