Primary Care
Research in this unit is conducted within the Centre for Primary and Community Care, based within the Health, Society, Environment and Sport academic area, part of the School of Health, Natural and Social Sciences, and draws on a wide range of professional and cognate disciplines. Its ethos is one of conducting high quality research through collaborative academic partnerships and at the same time enabling service practitioners to engage in research. In partnership with Primary Care Organisations it has supported a succession of early research career opportunities. Its primary research focus is on clinical management in primary care, inequalities in health care and quality improvement in health care.
Primary Care has developed from a group within the Pharmacy submission to RAE 2001. More recently, convergence of Primary Care with Social Sciences across the academic spectrum, facilitated by organisational development in the School, has resulted in selective expansion of this research group. Strategic investment by the University has been important in supporting the development of this group. More generally, replacement and additional academic appointments are now made with research profile as a key criterion. Small amounts of direct support have been made available to individuals for the purpose of conference attendance and proposal development. Nevertheless, much of the research activity within the Group has grown through project funding and through funding from NHS organisations wishing to invest in our strategic vision.
The research within this Unit is conducted within defined themes, reflecting aspects of primary and community care that are important to the region and to clinicians, drawing on the strengths of the academic staff, and being covergent with our taught programmes, especially at Masters level. These themes are the management of common chronic disorders in primary care and at the interface with secondary care, health and social inequalities and quality improvement in health care. A specific subtheme relating to sociological perspectives of domestic violence exists within our 'inequalities' work. The development of academic capacity among primary care practitioners is an underpinning theme throughout our work.
Further details can be found at the Centre for Primary and Community Care website.
