Research in the practice of family medicine: a lost cause or a pending challenge?
Abstract
This article reflects on barriers to research in family medicine, particularly in Latin American countries. These difficulties are not only related to the lack of family physicians as clinical researchers, but also to their progressive relegation from research on specific diseases or conditions by specialists whose domain is an organ system or disease.
In addition, family physicians in Latin America are also loaded with the difficulties imposed by the growing north-south divide between developed and developing countries given that, as compared with developed countries, few studies are conducted in Latin America. While research in Family Medicine is not a lost cause, it requires strong commitment from all academic, political, and social stakeholders dedicated to family medicine as a structural axis of healthcare services in Latin America, to offer primary care research the boost it needs.
Authors
Downloads
Keywords
- Clinical research
- Primary care
- Family medicine
- Latin America
References
Rubinstein A. Bases y fundamentos de la práctica de la
medicina familiar. En: Rubinstein A, Terrasa S (directores).
Medicina familiar y práctica ambulatoria. 2a ed. Buenos
Aires: Editorial Médica Panamericana; 2006.
Starfield B, Shi L, Macinko J. Contribution of primary care
to health systems and health. Millbank Quart. 2005; 83: 457-
Rawaf S, De Maeseneer J, Starfield B. From Alma-Ata to
Almaty: a new start for primary health care. Lancet. 2008;
: 1365-7.
Informe sobre la salud en el mundo 2008. La atención
primaria de salud: Más necesaria que nunca. (Fecha de acceso
septiembre 24, 2011).URL disponible en: http://
www.who.int/whr/2008/es/index.html
The Academy of Medical Sciences. Research in general practice:
bringing innovation into patient care. London: The Academy of
Medical Sciences; 2009.
Del Mar C. Is primary care research a lost cause? BMJ.
; 339: b4810.
Jahangir E, Comandé D, Rubinstein A. Cardiovascular
disease research in Latin America: A comparative
bibliometric analysis. World J Cardiol. 2011; 3: 383-7.
Rubinstein A, Rubinstein F. De la práctica clínica a la
investigación: dificultades y logros en investigación en
atención primaria. Evid Actial Pract Amb. 1999; 2: 124-6.
Greenfield S, Tarlov, A; Ware JE, Kravitz, RL, Nelson
EG, Zubkoff, N. Variation in resource utilization among
medical specialties and systems of care. JAMA. 1992;
: 1624-30.
Horton R. Is primary health care a lost cause? Lancet. 2003;
: 977.
Van Wheel, C, Rossler W. Improving health care globally:
A critical review of the necessity of family medicine
research and recommendations to build research capacity.
Ann Fam Med. 2004; 2: S5-S16.
The copy rights of the articles published in Colombia Médica belong to the Universidad del Valle. The contents of the articles that appear in the Journal are exclusively the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Committee of the Journal. It is allowed to reproduce the material published in Colombia Médica without prior authorization for non-commercial use
