Overview

The lead for Academic Primary Care is Professor Christine Bond. The Group currently comprises approximately 12 core research staff, 23 project research staff, 25 PhD students and a half time administrator.

Our multidisciplinary research staff include representatives from the main primary care disciplines of medicine, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy and physiotherapy as well as generic health services researchers. Research teams within the group bring together people with common interest in a particular topic and there is an overarching Research Strategy Group. Historically much of our research has included close collaboration with health psychology, health economics and medical statistics, including methodologically innovative approaches. We believe this has been valuable and seek to maintain these links whilst building new ones. 

We also work closely with primary care colleagues in the Division of Medical and Dental Education with whom we are co-located.

In 2008 a strategy for 2008-13 was produced by a core group including academic staff with primary remits in both teaching and research. As part of that process our remit was defined as:

• Conduct nationally and internationally recognized collaborative and innovative research
• Develop the current and future generation of researchers, educators and service providers
• Support the provision of high quality, evaluated, cost-effective services in primary care

The strategy document included ten strategic areas, one of which was Quality Research, with an aim to conduct high quality research that makes a difference to patients, professionals and researchers in general practice and primary care. Within that aim objectives were articulated. These have been updated at regular reviews and are currently:

• Develop further our areas of strength in Determinants and diagnosis of conditions, Evaluation of health care and health care interventions, and Delivery and organisation of care
• Maintain expertise in topics of women’s health, cancer, symptoms, medicines management and substance misuse
• Increase our peer reviewed funding income from prestigious organisations
• Collaborate where it is advantageous to do so
• Target high impact journals for peer reviewed publications

For further information on the research we conduct, please visit our research pages.