Project Summary

Canada is engaging in widespread reform of the organization and delivery of its primary health care (PHC) services. Provinces have begun to experiment with and/or implement major changes in the delivery of PHC, many of which require PHC practitioners to reconsider long established methods of delivering services, prioritizing care and interacting with the community. While these changes have major implications for policy makers, practitioners and members of the community, they also have a significant impact on research and evaluation.

This project examined Canada’s capacity to generate and make good use of evidence emanating from a complex PHC system. It results from a commissioned research project funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) conducted between February and November 2006. A steering committee helped guide the project.

Further Information on the RECAP project is available by contacting: recap@bruyere.org
 
Goals and Objectives:
1) To identify the existing research capacity in the field of primary health care
2) To examine how well this capacity is being used to create and communicate policy-relevant research in primary health care.
3) To assess the likely impact of the end of the Primary Health Care Transition Fund in March 2006 on primary health care research capacity and output.
4) To examine strategies (including potential funding mechanisms and organizational models) for developing, supporting and enhancing policy-relevant research capacity and knowledge transfer activities in primary health care.

Methods

Information was collected through a literature review, interviews with researchers and policy makers in Canada and abroad. Preliminary findings were discussed and additional data were gathered at regional meetings of PHC researchers and decision makers held in Western, Central and Atlantic Canada.

Findings

http://www.chsrf.ca/research_themes/pdf/mapping_future_report_2007_e.pdf