ABSTRACT
Trends in family practice research over the past 10-20 years are concerning, but recent events suggest that the leadership recognizes the impending crisis and has taken steps to avert disaster. The North American Primary Care Research Group appointed a Committee for Building Research Capacity. The developments suggest that the family practice culture itself is being targeted for change and that the discipline's leadership across the board recognizes the need for the change. The recommendations provide concrete guidelines for the discipline in charting its research future. But there are additional steps, which could further efforts to improve the research base, improve the perception of primary care research, and develop a research culture within the discipline. A major concern is that the research productivity of individual researchers continues to be low and, if anything, the research output of the discipline may be declining.
