ABSTRACT
Bob Mash describes the wide-ranging categories of professionals and academics who conduct primary care research, the types of methods used and how research capacity can be developed. The term 'general practice' is generally synonymous with family medicine, and likewise 'general practitioner' with 'family doctor' or 'family physician'. Although research in primary care is often seen as being mainly clinical research, there are many opportunities, as well as a great need, to do research with a much broader scope to improve the health of individuals and populations in all countries. Primary care providers should play a much stronger role in shaping and conducting research in and about their own practice. Primary care providers, who are usually a mix of doctors, nurses and mid-level doctors, are often too busy handling the clinical workload to engage significantly with the research necessary to strengthen and improve primary care.
