Discovering and doing family medicine and community health research

What is it about?

This special provides practical and clear guidance for getting started in research. This special issue was developed for aspiring researchers interested in conducting feasible projects in the family medicine and community health. Family physicians and general practitioners are unique specialists who see a wide breadth of problems for men and women spanning the entire age spectrum. The population of patients differs from other specialties as shown by multiple examples of the ecology of medical care. Clinical reasoning differs in family medicine as illustrated by a different probabilities for chest pain primary and referral care settings. Family physicians provide acute care, chronic care and preventive services. Family medicine physicians have a longitudinal relationship that can be used as a tool of healing. Thus, family medicine providers encounter unique research and educational challenges and opportunities. Moreover, they are the best pool of researchers for developing the evidence for practice and education. The articles in this special provide guidance for developing a mindset to do research and going from a research topic to a research question and choosing among methods and methodologies. The special issue also contains information on basic approaches to the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. This special issue provides a practical starting point for anyone seeking entry-level skills in research for clinical practice in family medicine and community health.

Featured Image